Mend the Broken
by Bleeding Black Blades
Summary: After events turn for the worst in the Alienage, broken and empty, Morriana must battle the Blight. Will she find a way out in love and stop the Blight? Small switch in the city elf story!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
Unfair**

**Morriana **

I stared at the road in front of me with my arms folded. The winter wind blew at my face, and the bruise on my cheek burned, but I didn't care. I glanced up at the human, Duncan his name was, as he led me through the forest we traveled. I was to be one of them. A vigilant Gray Warden. I had to leave my friends. My family. But I had to. I didn't want to leave them all behind. But I feel empty. Miserable. But no, that word is not enough. Nowhere near. Like there's nothing left in me. I know they would have taken care of me. They would have been there with me, helping me. Comforting me. But here I am, days away from the Alienage. I've gotten no comfort, other than knowing that they would all be okay in my absence. But now I felt distant from everyone. Even the people I've known all my life. I wanted nothing more than to be with my family. I wanted to be with my father and my cousins, Shianni and Soris. But, no. I have to be a Grey Warden and fight… these creatures. I wish I could just go back. Back when nothing seemed wrong to me or scared me, other than what was in my future.

_Flashback:_

"_Wake up Cousin." I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes to see the blurry figure of a red haired elf standing over me. "Why are you still in bed? It's you big day!" I groaned as my eyes adjusted to the light. _

"_What… why are you in my room Shianni?"_

"_Because I begged you father to let me share the good new!" She said happily. "You do remember what today is, don't you?" I swung my legs over the bed and looked up at her, as my eyes narrowed._

"_Wait, your breath... its drunk-till-noon-day?" I threw my fists in the air. "Finally!"_

_Shianni laughed. "You're getting married today! And Soris too! That's what I came to tell you! Your groom, Nelaros… he's here early!" I looked at her without moving my arms. _

"_Wait, since when am I getting married on drunk-till-noon day?"_

"_It's not drunk-till-noon day." My arms fell and I stood up._

"_Aw, _that_ would have made my day. Of course, getting drunk while I am to be married doesn't seem like such a bad idea…" I raised an eyebrow at Shianni and she shook her head, a smile playing at her lips. I sighed. "I still don't like the idea of this arranged match business."_

"_And who else are you going to marry?" _**Someone other than who I'm about to? **_"Besides, I already snuck a peek—he's handsome!" She sang. "There's going to be music, decorations, feasting… weddings are so much fun! You're so lucky!"_

"_Maybe you should be the one getting married, Shianni." _

**Maker only knows I hate to. Ah, it just sucks being the eldest of my cousins. Only by month for Soris, but a year for Shianni. I think she would be better at getting married.**

"_All in good time, Morriana. This is your day, not mine. __**Damn, worth a shot. **__Alright I'll stop tormenting you. I should go talk to the other bridesmaids and find my dress. Oh, Soris said that he'll be waiting for you outside. So move it!" She demanded and I laughed as she walked out of the room. I walked over to my chest and pulled out my wedding gown and threw it on. The gems on it were fakes, and it was easy to tell, but they were still pretty. Then I went over to my dresser and brushed my long brown hair, putting it up in a ponytail then braided it, letting two strands of hair fall off on the sides. I didn't even bother with make-up, but only added a bit of pink to my lips. If I was to be getting married, my groom would see me for who I am, not what the color powder says with its created mask. I sighed again and walked out of the room and found my father in the next. He gave me a sad smile as I approached. _

"_Ah, my little girl. It's… the last time I'll be able to call you that. Oh I wish your mother could have been here." He said sadly and put his hands on my shoulders._

"_Me too, Father. Well, what should I be doing?"_

"_I believe it's time for you to go find Soris." He dropped his hands. "The sooner this wedding starts, the less chance you two have to escape, dear daughter." I chuckled, smirking._

"_I still have a chance, yet, dear father." I remark. _

"_Still have your mother's smart mouth, I see. Oh, one last thing before you go, my dear. Your martial training… the swordplay, knives, whatever it is your mother taught you in. Best not to mention it to your betrothed." I smirked, folding my arms._

"_I take it you didn't say anything?" I said lifting an eye brow._

"_Well, it's not exactly something that would have made it easy to find a match for you. We don't want to seem like troublemakers. Adia made that mistake." I frowned and looked at the floor. _

"_The humans that killed her made a bigger one." My father grabbed my chin between his fingers and pulled my head up, making me look at him. _

"_Our world is full of injustices." He moved his hand from my chin. "Here, take this," he handed me a pair of leather boots. "Your mother would have wanted you to have them. It's the least I can give you as you start your new life." I smiled at him as I quickly put them on. At least I didn't have to wear those uncomfortable things that Shianni calls "shoes". "Go on, then. And Soris is no doubt looking for you." I smiled again, trying hard for tears not to form as I hugged him. After finally letting go I headed for the door. As I opened it, the light from the high early sun filled the house. I took a deep breath and stepped outside. _

_Flashback ends:_

That was when I was happy. That was when I would love to be sarcastic and laugh. Playing with my cousins and our friends. But I am here. This empty husk. 'Breathing and existing but not truly living' is what we would sometimes call the Tranquil that came into the Alienage. Now, that's what I felt. I looked up as we broke through the trees. A large ruin stood before us.

"Welcome to Ostagar," Duncan said. I stopped and stared at the ruin, dazed. Duncan turned back to me. "Are you alright?" he asked me.

"I…I can't do this, Duncan. I thought I could but…" I buried my face in my hands. "This is too much." I heard crunches of leave as he walked over to me. I removed my hands and looked at him.

"I know this is hard for you. I am not asking you to ignore your pain or your hurting." I sigh and look off to the fortress. "I will have you know that no one knows your name, though I have sent word."

"What did you tell them?"

"I said that you were a skilled elf that didn't talk much, but worthy to join our ranks." **Yes. Don't talk much. Not anymore.** I bit my lip and looked away. Had anyone else said I didn't talk much I would've burst out laughing. Now I just didn't care. "If you wish I could tell the other recruits to keep a distance."

"No, that… that would make me sound bad. Let's just go." We continued on. Finally we were in and a man in heavy golden armor appeared to be waiting for us.

"Ho there, Duncan!" He said, shaking his hand.

"Your majesty. I wasn't expecting…"

"A royal surprise. I was almost thinking you'd miss all the fun, dear friend." The king said and clapped his shoulder. Duncan laughed.

"Not if I can help it your majesty."

"Then I will have the mighty Duncan at my side in this battle. Glorious! The others had told me you found a new recruit. I believe this is her?" He looked over at me and I turned my eyes to the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"You majesty, this is Morriana."

"I see. The elf from one of my Alienages? How are you, my friend?"

'**From one of **_**my **_**Alienages'? Maker, were he not the king… I wonder how much trouble I'd be in for slapping him. Also for saying he "accidentally tripped" on my daggers and fell off a cliff into the water bellow and sank to the very bottom.**

I wanted to shout at him. First by telling him that I was not his friend and second by telling him about the abuse other humans put on us in the Alienage. But I didn't I just stared at the ground and shifted where I stood.

"She doesn't talk, your majesty, as I said in the message I had sent a few days ago."

"Of course. You are very welcome here." He and Duncan began talking about the battles and the arl of Redcliff's forces arriving in a few weeks, but I dazed out. I came back when I noticed the king leaving, saying that he should go before Logain sent a search party. I quickly bowed then turned to Duncan.

"I didn't hear what he had said, I dazed out." I admitted.

"He was saying how they've won a few battles against the darkspawn and that tomorrow would be no different."

"I didn't realize it was going so well. But, then again, he does seem a bit too confident." Duncan let out a small chuckle.

"That is true."

"But you really don't sound very reassured." He maneuvered for me to follow him and we began walking towards a long bridge.

"Despite our victory's so far, the horde grows larger with each passing day. By now they look to outnumber us."

"What would you have him do?" I asked once we reached the bridge.

"Wait for reinforcements. But I cannot ask him to act solely on my feeling."

"You could if he weren't such a fool." I said, louder than I intended.

"You mustn't speak of the king that way. He is… over eager." –_**Way over eager—**_"But for now we should focus on the task ahead."

"Right, what must I do?"

"For now I would like you to get some equipment." He handed me a pouch of coins, though I could feel there was few in it. "When you are done I would like you to go find another Grey Warden here by the name of Alistair."

"Let me guess… human." He nods.

"But, I assure you, Alistair is very kind. He wouldn't dare hurt you. But he does love to mess with the recruits." I bit my lip. "I'm sure you'll be back to the way you were when you left the Alienage. Alistair has a habit of bringing out a good attitude from people." I hummed.

"I think I'll just stay here for a moment. I need… I need to think."

"Of course. I will see you soon." I nodded and he began down the bridge and I watched him until he was out of sight. I reached into my armor and pulled out the ring I had put on a chain. The ring that was going to make me start a new life.

_Flashback:_

_I walked up to Soris, who was leaning against a tree. _

**At least he isn't getting his wedding clothes dirty**.

"_Well if it isn't my lucky cousin." He said when I came up to him. He pushed himself off the tree and walked over to me. "Care to celebrate the end of our independence together?" I laughed._

"_Is running away still an option?" I asked giving him a hopeful look. _

"_Are you insane? And where would you go? Into the woods to live with the Danlish elves?" I shrugged._

"_It could happen…"_

"_Live with the savages, far from the humans? Sounds like a dream. Hmm, not that we'd know where to find them? Besides, why would you want to run? Apparently your groom is a dream come true. My bride_ _sounds like a dying mouse." I pressed my lips together to stop my laughter._

"_Maybe you'll get a cage for a wedding present. Maybe have her kneel before you while you bask in your glory?" Soris laughed then stopped, clearing his throat, but I could tell he was trying to not keep laughing._

"_You're terrible. Let's go introduce you to your dreamy betrothed before you say 'I do'." We walked make to the center of the Alienage and around the tree of people. I saw Shianni waving at us in her bridesmaid dress. I smiled as we walked over to her. Then I saw three humans behind her and two other elves standing next to her. My face fell. The human in front grabbed the girl elf next to her and she struggled to get free._

"_Let go of me, Please!" she pleaded. Finally she got free and ran passed me and Soris. _

"_It's a party, isn't it? Grab a whore and have a good time." He said to the two men behind him then laughed. "Savor the hunt, boys take this little elven wench here," Referring to Shianni, "so young and vulnerable."_

"_Touch me and I'll you, you pig!" Shianni shouted._

**Ah, yes. Ever-so vulnerable. I wonder if he knows she'll actually do that…**

"_Please, my lord. We're celebrating weddings here!" A male elf begged, standing next to Shianni. The human walked over to him. _

"_Silence, worm!" he shouted before backhanding him so hard he fell to the ground. I began to walk over, anger filling me, when I felt Soris grabbing my arm, tightly. _

"_Morriana, I know what you're thinking, but maybe we shouldn't get involved." He whispered to me. I pulled my arm away and looked at him._

"_You must be out of your dam mind if you think I will let these humans abuse us." I loudly whispered back._

"_Fine. But let's try to be diplomatic, shall we?" I nodded, even though I had no idea what diplomatic meant. I can't believe he sometimes forgot that I don't have as much of an expended vocabulary as he did. _

"_What's this," the human said walking over to me. "Another lovely one come to keep me company?" I scoffed._

"_Dream on, _human_!" He scoffed back to me._

"_Do you have any idea who I am?" _

"_I don't give a sod who you are, scum!" I shouted._

"_Morri-" Soris began but the human glared at him. I immediately jumped in front of him and my eyes narrowed at the human. He turned around and that's when he was hit with a bottle in the head, falling to the ground and Shianni stood over him. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. One of the other humans can over and looked down at him. _

"_Are you insane? This is Vaughan Urien, the arl of Denerim's son!" _

And that'sssssss…. Bad, right?" I said with a smiled. The human glared at me.

"_W-what? Oh Maker…" Shianni covered her face. The human began walking over to Shianni but I got in front of her with my hands up. _

"_Stop! Maybe his father should teach him better manners." The other human behind me gave me the "death glared". "Okay, look, things got out of hand." I said. _

"_You've got a lot of nerve, knife ears. This'll go badly for you!" he said, I shrugged as if I didn't care while picking up Vaughan and carried him away. I turned to Shianni. _

"_Oh, I really messed up this time." She said. I put my hands on her shoulders and shook my head. _

"_He deserved it."_

"_It'll be alright." Soris assured us, putting his hands on my shoulder and on top of my hand on Shianni's shoulder. "He won't tell anyone and elven woman took him down." Shianni smiled._

"_I hope so. I should got get cleaned up," referring the bits of dirt that got on her arm and hands. Soris and I nodded and she walked away._

"_Is everyone else alright?" Soris asked as two other elves came up to us._

"_I think we're just shaken. What was that about?" the girl elf asked. Soris nervously chuckled._

"_Looks like the arl's son started drinking too early. Um, well let's not let this ruin our day. Uh, this is Valora, my betrothed." I looked at the man next to her. He wasn't ugly, thank the Maker, but he wasn't completely as handsome as Shianni made him out to be. He didn't even look like a fighter._

**Great, I'm going to be left with this softy! **

"_And this must be my betrothed. Nelaros, was it?"_

"_Yes, and pleasure. Soris said much about you. Some of it was even…positive." I looked at Soris, smiling, and slightly hit his arm._

"_Nice to know you give me credit, Sorris." I shouted at him. He laughed._

"_Hey I just wanted to give to give you a sporting chance to run. I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss." Soris maneuvered to lead Valora a few feet away from us._

"_Well, here we are… Are you nervous?"_

"_Not really," I lied, "you?" He gave me a lovey smile._

"_I thought I'd stay calm, but finally seeing you has made me… well, let's just say I'm not calm."_

**Hm, a softy, and a flirt. I'm so screwed. At least he has good manners. We'll see how this leads. **

"_How was your trip from Highever?" I asked, changing the subject, trying to make him last thing I needed was a groom who was nervous and ends up dropping the ring. I know I wouldn't be able to help, should that happen. I wouldn't be able to breathe from laughing so hard. _

"_Uneventful, thankfully. The trade caravan we accompanied had little of value. I think that kept the bandits away."_

"_Come on, Mori, we should let them get ready." Soris muttered urgently. _

"_We'll see you two in a bit. Don't disappear on us." Valora said._

"_No promises," I mumbled._

"_Or we'll come find you." Nelaros said then they both walked away._

"_Don't look now, but we have another problem." I moved over to Soris's side to see what he was talking about. _

"_Anything to put off this wedding for a while." A sigh escaping my lips. "What?"_

"_Another human just walked in. Could be one of Vaughan's men or just a random troublemaker. Either way we need to move him along before someone does something stupid." I looked off to see a man with black hair and beard, two weapons at his back. He was looking around and had his hands behind him._

"_Right," I agreed. "Let's go talk to him."_

"_Let's do this quickly. And let's be careful. He seems armed." I nodded and made my way to him._

_Flashback ends:_

I shut my eyes, trying to force the memories away but they refused to leave. Opening them I stared off at the bridge. I tried hard for a yawn not to break through. I haven't slept since we left the Alienage, almost a week ago. I tried but the memories were too fresh and the nightmares were too real. So I stayed awake against Duncan's protests. Fatigue often tried over me but I pushed it off. I didn't sleep and barely ate. My stomach often yelled at me to eat and my feet ached. I just ignored them both. There were worse things. I just began down the bridge.

I passed many humans in armor, no doubt soldiers and they all smiled at me as I passed and said things like "Good day," and "Well met." This confused me. No human was ever nice to me but Duncan. But, at times, I had my doubts. I don't know whether he recruited me to help me or to help himself. He did keep his hands away from me and only talked only when I wished to talk.

I had asked Duncan about the Grey Wardens and their history, considering I didn't know much about them. Just the stuff I had heard around the Alienage. Finally I made it to the other side of the bridge where there was another soldier. He said something to me, but I didn't hear it. Or didn't want to. Walking past him I entered the camp.

Tents were everywhere and people rushed around doing errands and such. I could hear a priest praying to some soldiers. I didn't want to hear it. If the Maker was truly on my side, he wouldn't have let any of this happen to me. I looked up at the ruins and they seemed to glisten in the sunlight. I decided to head to the quarter master to get some gear.

"You, elf, where's my armor?" He shouted at me as I came to him. I was taken aback but then looked at him angrily.

"I am not one of your bloody servants!" I spat at him.

**I mean, it's not like we all look so much alike, right?**

"Oh… my apologies. I take it you're here to see what I have." I didn't reply. I simply came over to see what he had. I switched out the bow I had for a better one and sold a few items I would not need anymore. I also bought a sword and put my other dagger in my boot, though keeping my mother's dagger. I avoided looking at the Quarter Master as we traded then headed off to find Alistair. I looked up at the ruin near the quarter master and thought that it might be a nice quiet place. Perhaps Alistair could wait for a while.

I headed that way. I just wanted to be away from everyone for a while. To think. This shouldn't have happened to me. If that _human _hadn't done what he did wouldn't have to be here fighting these creatures. These monsters.

_Flashback:_

_Soris followed close behind me as we walked over to the human. _

"_Good day." He greeted as I stood in front of him. "I understand congratulations are in order for your impending wedding."_

"_Thank you, and do you have business here, human?" I ask, not trying to be rude. If I did we would only get more trouble._

"_I do. I believe, however, that I may have already found what I am seeking."_

"_Then you'll be leaving, I assume?"_

"_I'm sorry, but I have no intention of leaving."_

"_Fine. Maybe we could… uh… work something out." Great, just what I need. Showing a human I'm as dumb as a sack of rock. That I can't even come up with a word for this. _

**Damn, why couldn't I have been taught to have a better vocabulary? **

_But he didn't seem to notice and hummed._

"_She keeps her composure, even when facing an unknown and armed human. A true gift, wouldn't you say, Valendrien?" Our elder, Valendrien, walks up to the human and stands next to him like a friend. I raised my eyebrows at this. _

"_I would say the world had far more use of those who know how to stay their blades. It is good to see you, my old friend. It has been far too long."_

"_A friend of the elder is welcome here." I say, bowing my head in respect._

"_Oh? Changing your tone so quickly?" The human asks, then chuckles. _

"_May I present Duncan, head of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden."_

"_Well met, Duncan." I greet. "I apologize for my rudeness I may have caused." Soris just stays quiet behind me. "A friend of the elder is a friend to us. Human or not."_

"_And you, dear girl." _

"_But my question still remains," Valendrian interrupts. "Why are you here, Duncan?" Duncan tells us about there being a Blight beginning and that the Grey Wardens are at Ostagar. Valendrian says that he has heard the news and that this is an awkward time to because of the wedding. Then he tells us to go on and get ready for the wedding then walks away._

"_Of course, please do not let me interrupt to any further." He bows his head to us then Soris and I head to the stage. It didn't take long for the people to start surrounding. _

"_Oh, Soris," Valora says as we step up. "There you are. I was afraid you'd run off."_

"_Not yet," I mumble._

"_No I'm here. With Nelaros's blushing bride in tow." Nelaros looks at me but I try to avoid his gaze. _

"_I'm not blushing!" I say defensively. I look over at Shianni and I see her holding back a smile. _

"_You look beautiful," Nelaros compliments._

"_Looks like everyone's ready." I ignore him. The preacher begins up the step and over to us._

"_I can't do this." I say quietly but Soris hears me._

"_You had your chance to run, coward!"_

"_Friends and family, today we celebrate not only this joining, but also bounded kin and kind." Valendrian announces to everyone. "We are of free people, but that was not always so. Andraste, the Maker's prophet, freed from the bond of slavery. As our community grows, remember that our strength lies in commitment to tradition and to each other." The priest starts speaking. Soris grabs my arm with a concerned and worried look on his face. At first I think he's just worried about getting married but then I see what he's looking at._

**Vaughn!**

_He's walking towards us with his 'friends' and a few guards following. The priest turns to him as he begins up the steps._

"_Milord? This is… an unexpected surprise."_

"_Sorry to interrupt, Mother, but I'm having a party and we're dreadfully short on female guests." He says, evilly. _

"_Milord, this is a wedding!" She spats._

"_Ha! If you want to dress up your pets and have tea parties, that's your business. But don't pretend this is a proper wedding. Now we're here to have a good time, aren't we boys?" One of them laughs._

"_Just a good time with the ladies." Another follows his laughing. Vaughn begins picking some of the elves. Including Shianni. She struggles to get free from one of the other humans but is unsuccessful. _

"_And see the pretty bride." He says looking over at me._

"_Don't worry," Nelaros whispers. "I'll protect you."_

"_I can handle myself! We have to fight!" I persuade._

"_Ah, yes… such a well formed little thing." Vaughn says, his eyes lingering at my body. I scowl at him._

"_You villains!" Nelaros cries. _**Wow, because that will do so much.**__

"_That's quite enough." He says laughing. "I'm sure we all want to avoid further… unpleasantness." I push Nelaros away and look at Vaughn._

"_Take me," I beg. _**Andraste's ass, I'm not going to let him take all of us!**_ "Please, but let the others go. You can even keep me for as long as you like. I'll agree to anything if you just let them go…" his smile turns into a wicked smirk and chills my blood._

"_That wouldn't be much of a party, would it? Oh we're going to have so much fun." Then next this I know I am back-handed and as everything goes dark, I hear his evil laughter ringing in my head._

_Flashback ends_

I stopped when I heard two men talking. I could hear them at the top of the steps.

"What is it now?" One of them asks. "Haven't the Grey Wardens asked more than enough from the circle?" Grey Wardens? Then the other one must be the one I'm looking for. Biting the inside of my mouth I head up and see one man in armor and another in robes.

"I simply came to deliver a message from the revered mother, ser mage. She desires your presents." The man in armor says. His hair is a dirty blond color and is stuck up in the front. The mages skin is dark, as is his hair, annoyance covers his face.

"What her reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me. I am busy helping the Grey Warden, by the kings orders in might add."

"Should I have asked her to write a note?"

"Your glibness does you no credit."

"And here I thought we were getting along so well. I was even going to name one of my children after you… the grumpy one." I almost smile at his comment, but I remind myself he is human.

"Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner."

"Yes, I was harassing you, by delivering a message?"

"Fine. I will speak to this woman if I must." The mage turns to me and walks over. "Out of my way, elf." He says as he passes me. His shoulder hits mine and I flinch, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"You know one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people to together." Someone says. I turn to see the one in armor but I quickly look down before I can take in his eyes. "Um, right. Well is there something you need?" I nodded, avoiding eye contact. "Wait, are you Duncan's new recruit?" I nodded again.

"I'm sorry I should have recognized you right away. Though, I don't know your name. Duncan never mentioned it. Might I know it?" I glanced up at him and took a step back, hoping he wouldn't follow. "Um, never mind. Why don't we be getting to Duncan?" Without looking at him I begin to walk to the fire where he is and Alistair follows. I take it he got the hint I don't want to talk.

We finally got to Duncan. He was gazing at the fire but turned to us when we came up to him.

"There you are," Duncan started. "I assume we should be starting, of course, as long as you are done riling up mages, Alistair?"

"What can I say? The revered mother ambushed me. The way she wields they should stick _her _in the army." The corners of my lips twitch at his remark, but I stop them.

"She forced you to sass the mage, did she? We cannot afford to anticipate anyone, Alistair."

"Of course. I'm sorry Duncan."

"Good, now, please, go collect the others."

"I will." And with that Alistair walked away. Once he was out of sight I turned to Duncan.

"How are you holding up?" he asked me. I sighed.

"I've never been around so many humans. Even in the Alienage… it feels so strange. Though, so far not _too _many people have given me trouble."

"I see. Well, for now you are away from the bad ones and there are some nice ones here." **I wonder if he is trying not to use big words around me. "**I know you may not trust him, but Alistair is a nice fellow. You may grow to like him. Just give it time."

"Time? Because time heals all wounds, right? It doesn't really seem to work well with people. I didn't even get time to recover. It was just… it happened and I'm on to one thing to the next." I looked at the ground, almost ashamed. What kind of Grey Warden would complain like this?

"Do not be so hard on yourself. In time you will heal."

"So for now I must push my grief and complaining away for now?" he sighed.

"The battle is tomorrow night. Perhaps, if you wish, we could talk?" I looked at him, though not meeting his eye, and shrugged. "I would also like you to rest and some sleep tonight. You haven't in days."

"I don't need sleep," I reply. He chuckled.

"You may say that now, but trust me when I say you will need it." There was a small pause then I spoke.

"I don't trust anyone here but you, Duncan."

"I understand. Would it be because I am friends with your elder?"

"Yes." I reply. "If our elder trusted you, then so do I." I shifted closer to the fire to get warmer.

**Damn this cold weather.**

I was about to say something else when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Alistair with two others following him.

"This is ser Jory, a knight from Redcliff." Alistair introduced as he walked up and stood next to Duncan. Jory had little hair and his skin was pale. He was in chainmail armor and had a great sword at his back. Alistair moved next to Duncan as Joy made his greeting. "And this is Davath, a _fellow _from Denerim." Davath had jet black hair and that went with his tanned skin. He was dressed in leather armor and had a bow on his back and two daggers at his belt. Davath looked at me from my head to my feet then back up. His smile was flirtatious. And his voice was smooth as he said his greeting. I bit my lip and looked passed him, not meeting his eyes. "And this is the new recruit." I looked back then nodded once before looking to the ground.

"She doesn't talk much," Duncan quickly added in. I looked back up at his and gave him a thankful look. "And now we may begin. The four of you will be sent into the wilds to complete two tasks. The first is to retrieve three vials of darkspawn blood. The second task, I would like you to find some old treaties in an archive in the wilds. Alistair, it is important you get these.

"We will, Duncan." Alistair replied.

"Good. Be back as soon as you can." We followed Alistair to the gate that led to the wilds. I kept a small distance in the back away from them. When the gates opened for us and I glanced back at Duncan. He gave me a reassuring smile and gave a nod. I took a deep breath and followed the others into the Marker forsaken wilds.

**This should be fun.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A quick thank you to HikariYagami22 for the cool review!**

**Chapter 2  
~Into the Wilds~**

**Morriana **

The wilds were very dim as we entered; the sun lay hidden behind the tall trees as night would soon be creeping on us if we didn't hurry. Alistair walked down the path before us and I followed without a word. We were not far off from where we started when wolfs attacked us. My blades were drawn as the six wolves circled us, snarling. I stabbed the first one that came to me and then hit the one next to it. I danced around them as they tried to bit me, but they failed. It didn't take long for the fight to end and we sheathed our weapons. I glanced at the other wolves that the others killed. One's face was bloodied where Alistair smashed his face into it, another hand a deep cut from Jory and Davath filled a couple with arrows. I grew suspicious of the wolves but the others just went on. Then, I noticed a wolf in a bush near where Alistair was walking.

"Alistair!" I cried as the wolf lunged at him. I quickly threw my blade at the wolf and it lodged into its side. Alistair jumped in surprise as the wolf landed dead at his feet. He looked at it then gave me a lopsided smile before taking out the dagger from the wolf.

"I thought you didn't talk." He commented as he handed me the dagger by holding it by its bladed part. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks but I took the dagger and sheathed it once again. He then walked off and Jory followed right behind him I started off too when Davath came to my side.

"So, how did you come to be here?" he asked. I didn't need to look at him to know he still had his flirty smile but I made no comment. "You know, you're quite beautiful for an elf. And very skilled," He added. "What are you doing here with all this dangerous fighting?" I caught a glimpse of Alistair looking back over his shoulder but brushed it off. I want so desperately to punch Davath, but restrain myself. We soon stumbled upon a wounded soldier. He tells us of how the darkspawn came out from now where and attacked.

"I have bandages in my pack to help you," Alistair says. He takes out some bandages and begins helping him. I soon notice he is having a bit of trouble wrapping a wound on his leg. I quickly kneel down and help. Alistair glances at me, but I focus on the wounds. When we finish we help him up and he limps back to camp. Jory then blurts out that we could be in danger and I can't help but sigh.

"We are in no danger of running into the horde, Jory." Alistair tries to assure him.

"And? How many darkspawn can the four of us take? A dozen? A hundred? I'm not a coward," he says, defensively, "this is foolish and reckless. We should go back."

"You sound like a coward to me." I pip up. **Sod, why am I doing this? Oh, right, because if no one will tell this guy he shouldn't be a coward then someone should. Some knight.**

"I'm simply trying to stay alive…"

"Look, Jory, it's not that hard. If you stab them, they bleed and die. Is that so hard? Or is it the blood that scares you?" I ask. I heard Alistair chuckle.

"Bloodthirstiness is such a charming feature, did you know that?" I look at him with a curious gaze but I look back to the ground. "I assure you, Jory, the horde is deep in the forest, but we won't be going near it. There are darkspawn in these wilds nearby, sure, but not the horde. This I know."

"You see, ser knight?" Davath says with a smirk. "We might die, but we'll be warned about it first."

"I suppose that is… reassuring."

"That doesn't mean I'm here to make things easier, though. So let's move on." Once again we are on the path, passing the turned wagons and dead ox. A snarl catches my attention and I look up to see strange creatures. Their flesh is rotten and I could literally smell the evil on them. We all draw out weapons and Alistair quickly attacks, bashing his shield on the closest one. I started fighting one of the darkspawn that came at me. I swung at me and I quickly dodged. I blocked another hit then stabbed it through the middle. I then swung my blade around to another darkspawn that came behind me, beheading it. I saw out of the corner of my eye Davath shooting his arrows at some of the darkspawn on the hill while ser Jory ran his blade through a darkspawn in the hill then threw it off. The fight proceeded on until the last darkspawn was struck down. I was panting from the fight and was now covered in blood. We collected the blood from the bodies then continued on. We encountered three more groups as followed the path.

We finally stopped at a pond to clean. Jory and Davath sat near it together chatting and such. I sat on a long on the far other side, much away from them as I could. I stared at my feet, my hands in my lap. I felt so tired. My eyes threatened to close and let sleep take over me, but I refused it. Perhaps Duncan was right; I should have gotten some sleep. But, no. I can't the dreams have been haunting me since I left the Alienage. I keep arguing with my mind.

**How could you have left them like that?**

**I had to…**

**Don't even try that. Look at what happened to Shianni! And then you abandon her. She was broken and violated... what cousin of hers would've let that happen? You should have helped her. You should have been faster. And then Soris! You are the eldest. You should have saved him! It was your duty as the older cousin to protect them.**

**I was broken too; there was nothing I could do…**

**Excuses! You shouldn't have let them take her. You shouldn't have let them do the things they did…**

_Flashback:_

"_Maker keep us, Maker protect us…"_

_I moaned as I regained consciousness. I opened my eyes to see Shianni, Valora, and a couple of other elves looking over me. Not far off I heard Nola praying._

"_Maker keep us, Maker protect us…" she prayed._

"_Come on, you're giving me a headache." Shianni complained. "It's good to see you're finally awake, Mori." I groaned and sat up, rubbing my head. Shianni helped me up and I looked around the room. _

"_Okay, we need to make a plan…" I start but Valora cuts me off._

"_Look we'll just… do what they want and go home and pretend none of this happened. It will be worse if we do something."_

"_It will be worse if we don't!" Shianni yelled. I shushed her and she lowered her head to quiet down. "What are we going to do?"_

"_Look, we all know what we want." I answer her. "We need to find something out. Maybe jump them when they come for us or… I don't know. But we can't just sit by and…" I stop when I hear a click from the lock on the door and it opens reviling six soldiers. My eyes narrow as they walk in. Their eyes gazed at our bodies. _

"_Alright, ladies. Vaughn would very much like to see you now." One says with a wicked smirk. Nola instantly stood up in front of him._

"_Let us go!" she shouted. Suddenly, the guard closest to her drew his blade and struck her. Some of the blood got on me but I was too stunned to even care. She fell to the ground with a thud. The man kept his weapon out. I immediately jumped in front of all the other elves, my arms stretched out protectively._

"_Get a load of this." one of the others shouts. "This little elf trying to protect her own scum kind." The others laughed and I might have been flushing, but I didn't move from where I was. _

"_No, leave them alone! You don't need to…"_

_Another walked over to me and punched me in the ribs then face. I fell to the side, but tried hard to remain conscious. I hear Shianni calling my name but it sounded faded as some of the men dragged her and all the others out. When I looked up I saw two guards still standing in the room. One had dragged away the body so now a blood stain lay on the carpet. _

"_Let's see how much of a fight she still has in her." One says they move closer to me, and I, with all my strength, lunged at them to attack…_

_Flashback end:_

"Are you okay?" A voice says from behind me, breaking me of my thoughts. I know its Alistair without looking, but, still, I don't turn to him. I just keep looking at my feet, almost like if I were to look away they would disappear. He sat on the ground next to me, though not very close. "I never thanked you for savingme_." _**No, you didn't. **"So, thanks." I feel my heart racing as he talks. "You never did tell me your name." I still don't speak. "Oh, I get it! You're shy." **Is he messing with me? **"Don't worry, I'm sure my witty charm will drive you right out of it just you watch. I am quiet the prize after all." I didn't know if he actually meant it or was just trying to make me laugh. Either way, my lips twitched into a small smile, though I tried desperately to press my lips together to stop it. I failed. "Aha, see? I got a smile." I blush and look off into the forest. "You know," he starts, his voice turning gentle, "if there's anything you want to talk about I'm all ears." I slowly turn my head towards him, though not looking at his face.

"I don't want to be here." I reply.

"From what Duncan said in his letter he said he rescued you." I look at him, unsure which emotion is over coming which.

"Does it ever occur to you that sometimes people don't want to be saved? I didn't want to leave my home. I didn't want to leave my family. Duncan didn't _save _me. He conscripted me and took me away from it all." I was breathing hard now, due to my now realized anger. I could see guilt—or maybe pity—on his face. My shoulder dropped and I looked to the lake.

"Don't worry, you're a good fighter and I'm sure you'll be a good addition to the Gray Wardens."

**Alistair**

The elven girl continued to stare off at the lake. I could see in her eyes that they were filled with sorrow, pain, and other emotions I could not name right now. Dark circles were under her eyes. I could see her shutter as if she were fighting a yawn.

"Maker's breath," I say under my breath. "When was the last time you slept?" I ask. She shrugged. She looks like she hasn't slept in a week, let alone eaten in a week or so. _**Wasn't Duncan taking care of her?**_ "Maybe you could get some sleep when you are done with the joining." I suggest. She just shakes her head.

"I'm fine. I don't need sleep right now."

"Look, I'm just—" As I try to place a hand on her shoulder she shoots up away from me and takes a few steps back. I then noticed she was shaking. Somehow, I knew it wasn't the cold. She bits her lip and looks away.

"We should get going." She has tears in her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. For some strange reason, I feel the urge to take her in my arms; to hold her; to tell her everything will be okay. And the thing is… I don't know why I feel this way. But I can't. I simply nod and call for the others. The girl squares her shoulders and all signs of almost crying have vanished. The girl seems tough, like Duncan said.

_**I wonder what happened to her before she joined. Maker, I hope she lives. **_

We travel on and I try hard to figure out where this old ruin is on this dang map. I look around, trying to find the land marks on the map to find it. I knew I should have asked Duncan to teach me to read a map. I never really learned how to in the chantry. I sigh and stop to look at the map. The elven girl comes up to me and takes the map. I open my mouth to say something but she holds up a finger to stop me. I watch as her eyes scan the paper then she looks up and around. She points to a part of the woods to her left.

"There. That way should take us to this ruin." She explains. I'd be lying if I said I said that I wasn't impressed. I give her a small smile but she turns and walks off in the direction she pointed out. There was something about this girl that I found odd. She seems very skilled, and strong. But there's a look in her eyes that makes her look as if she will crumple at any moment, yet she holds back. And most of the time it's like she is distant, almost. Not only that but she seems smart. But I wonder why she reacted the way she did when I tried to touch her. I mean, it's not like I was going to hurt her or anything. I give myself a mental shake and begin following her. Davath goes past me and walks next to her I hear him trying to flirt with her, but she says nothing. I couldn't exactly hear what he had said but when she turned to look at him she had such an evil look on her face, even I was scared. He holds back and falls in line next to Jory. He whispers something to him, but I cannot hear it.

When I look back up at the sky I see that it nears setting. We would most likely have about an hour until night takes over. It wasn't long until the ruin came into view. The elven girl—Maker I wish I could find out what her name is—rolls back up the map and hands it to me. We make our way through the woods when magic comes from nowhere and hits her, putting her in a magical barrier. She can't move. I look ahead to the bridge and a Hurlock emissary stands on it. I use my Templar skills to get her out and she charges at the emissary. We begin after her but four genlock rouges appear and attack us. I swung at the genlocks, fighting hard. When they were all dead I saw the elven girl fighting the emissary. I noticed an arrow had pierced into her shoulder, but she just kept fighting. Finally, the emissary fell and a few Hurlocks began to surround her. I ran to her and hit the first one that was closest to me. She and I continued to fight them while Jory and Davath fought the archers a little ways' off. When the fight was over she pulled out the arrow and tossed it aside and looked at it to see the damage.

"Here, I can help you with that…"

"I'm fine." She snaps. She turns and continues up the path before I can say anything else. I shake my head and follow her.

_**Maker, why is this woman so complicated? Why **_**are**_** women complicated in general?**_

It doesn't take long until we finally reach the ruin and—surprise—the entrance was surrounded by darkspawn. Once again we hacked at the creatures, and once again we won. The girl stabs a Hurlock through its neck and in his stomach. It made no sound as it went down. Davath whips out his daggers and take on two archers while Jory swung his sword at a few genlocks. I fought the Hurlock leader. His great sword clashed with my shield and I swung my swung, cutting its side. It growled in pain and swiped at my feet, making me fall. It was just about to stab me when two daggers flew at it, lodging in its chest. The elven girl came up to me once it fell with a gargle.

"Sad how I'm always having to save you," she mumbled, picking up her weapons.

"My hero," I replied with a witty smile. She gave me the look that she gave Davath and I lost the smile. _**Okay, note to self: No pointing out heroism. **_She shook her head and walked into the ruin and to a chest while Jory helped me up.

"There's nothing here." She exclaimed. I looked over at the chest and saw she was right before I could say anything I hear a voice behind us.

"Well, well. What have we here?" We all turned to see a woman standing on some of the rubble. Her clothes didn't cover much above her waist, a long skirt made from other clothing covered her legs and feet and a staff hung at her back. Apostate, no doubt. Her golden colored eyes burned at us. The elven girl stood up and walked past us as the woman continued. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger, poking amidst of corpse whose bones been long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, coming to these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey?" The woman walked to us and stopped in front of the elven girl. "What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder." The elf girl thinks for a moment before answering.

"The Gray Wardens once owned this tower."

"Tis a tower no longer. The wilds have obviously claimed this desiccated corpse." The woman then began to walk past us. "I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go?' I wondered, 'why are they here?'" She stopped at a higher point, overlooking us. "And now you disturb ashes of those who have not been touched in so long. Why is that?"

"Don't answer her," I tell the elf girl. "She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby."

"Oh, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you." The woman mocks, throwing her arms up.

"Yes," I mumble. "Swooping is bad."

"She's the witch of the wild!" Davath says. "She'll turn us into toads!"

"Witch of the wilds? Such idle fancy, those legends. Have you no minds of your own? You there, elf." I see the elf look up at her, giving her a suspicious look. "Woman do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine." I see her hesitate then she squares her shoulder.

She bits her lip unsure of what to do. Finally she complies. "Morriana."

_**Aha, Morriana! Honestly, it's not a bad name. Kind of nice, actually. I wonder why she never told anyone.**_

"And you may call me Morrigan, if you wish. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest. Something that is here no longer?"

"'Here no longer'?" I repeated. "You stole them, didn't you? You're some kind of…sneaky… witch-thief!" I accuse.

"How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?" The witch folds her arms

"Quit easily, it seems."

"Look," Morriana replies, "Those documents are Gray Warden property and I would suggest you should return them."

"I will not for it was not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened."

"Well then, who removed them?"

"T'was mymother, in fact." Morrigan sighs. _**Maker, please tell me that's a joke.**_

"Can you take us to her?" I looked over at Morriana to see if _she_ was joking along with her. She wasn't.

"Now there is a sensible request." Morrigan chuckled before saying, "I like you."

"I'd be careful," I mumble, taking a step. "First it's 'I like you' and then '_Zap_!' frog time."

"She'll put us all in the pot she will, just you watch," Davath says.

"If the pot's warmer than this forest it'd be a nice change," Jory remarks.

"Follow me the." Morrigan turns and heads off. Morriana follows behind her, then I behind her, shadowed by the other two.

We head deeper into the forest until we reach a small hut with a woman standing outside of it.

"Greetings, mother." Morrigan greets her. "I bring before you four Gray Wardens who-"

"I see them girl," the woman replies. We stop in front of her while Morrigan moves behind her. "Hmm, much as I expected."

"Are we really supposed to believe you were expecting us?" I say in disbelief. The woman talks on about believing what we will and I have no doubt in my mind through all of this that she is defiantly crazy. Morrigan had gone in the hut and returned not long later with the treaties and handed them to Morriana. She thanks them and Morrigan's mother tells her daughter to show us out of the woods. She leads us through the forest and none of us speak until we finally get back. Morriana thanks Morrigan and we head back into the camp. Another thing I am staring to find odd about this Morriana girl: I keep noticing that when she is talking to someone she looks away, only glancing at their faces for no more than two seconds. Strange. And the way she distances herself from everyone.

Anyway, we find our way back to Duncan, who was still standing by the fire.

"So you've returned. Have you been successful?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to HikariYagami22 for the review and for picking out that error. Still can't believe I missed that!**

**Chapter 3  
~The Joining~**

**Morriana**

Alistair led us to the temple to begin the Joining. What we had encountered in the wilds still racked through my brain. I leaned against the wall of the temple while Joy paced. Davath was standing not far from them, annoyance covering his face, while Alistair stood a few feet away from me. It was only when Jory and Davath started bickering did Alistair come over to me.

"Hey," he started. I gave him a simple nod and looked back at the ground. "Well, um, I wanted to see if you were okay. I mean, with your wound and all.

**Which one, I wonder**_**. **_I bitterly think.

"I was wondering if you would like any help with the injury on your shoulder. It was a pretty bad hit is all and…" I look at him- well I look sort of past his face- and say,

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem like it." I sigh.

"Look, I'll take care of it after this Joining, alright. And if you don't think I will, then you can watch while I put a salve and bandage on it, alright." I reply annoyed. Before he can answer, Duncan walks in with a gauntlet in his hands. He sets it on the table then turns to us.

"And so it comes to the Joining. When humanity stood on the verge of annihilation, so it was that the first Gray Wardens drank of darkspawn blood and mastered their taint." Duncan explains.

**Well… that sounds… healthy. **

"W-we're g-going to d-drink the blood of those… those creatures?" Jory stutters.

"Yes. This is the source of our power and our victory."

"Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint. We can sense it in the darkspawn and use it to slay the archdemon."

"Wait," I stop them. "'Those who survive'?" Duncan looks at me with a sad look.

"Not all who drink the blood will survive. Those who do are forever changed."

**I could die? Maybe that's good. I mean, it's not like I'll be able to see my family again; I can never go back home, lest I am to be delivered for a funeral. Not only that, but I don't think I could live with the… the shame of what happed and how I left. Shianni assured me she'd be okay along with the others. But how am I to know that? Maybe death would be the best thing for me. For all of them. I don't think she could forgive me for what happened.**

"We speak few words prior to the Joining, but these words have been said since the first. Alistair, if you would." Alistair bows his head and begins to speak. I drink in his every word.

"Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows of where we stand, vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten and that one day we shall join you."

Duncan turns and takes the gauntlet.

"Davath, step forward." Davath takes a step and is handed the cup. He puts it to his lips and drinks then hands it back. Duncan and Alistair were taking a few steps back so Jory and I followed. Davath then doubled over, screaming in pain and agony as he clenches his head. His eyes turn white and his hands move to his throat and he gags. I look away from the scene in horror. I hear Duncan quietly say "I am sorry Davath," and when I look back Davath is on the ground, dead still. "Jory, step forward."

"But I-I have a wife. A child! Had I known—" Jory draws his blade, holding it in front of him

"There is no turning back."

"No! You ask too much. There is no glory in this." Duncan puts down the cup and pulls out a dagger. I gasp as their weapons meet and then again then Duncan drives his dagger into Jory's stomach. His mouth opens but no sound comes out.

"I am sorry…" with a gasp for breath, Jory falls to the ground. I cover my mouth in sorrow for him. Duncan sheaths his weapon then turns to hand me the gauntlet. "From this moment forward you are a Gray Warden…" I press the gauntlet to my lips and tilt it so the blood reaches me. It burns as it goes down my throat I hand it back. That's when the pain strikes me like lightning. I felt as though my blood was on fire, like lava being poured my veins as the blood added itself to me. The pain swept through my whole body that no part hurt worse or less than the other.

Maker, I just wanted it to stop! I shut my eyes to stop the pain, only to meet with a horrid dragon. It roared so loudly. Then it disappeared. I felt death wanting to claim me. I began to give in when I heard a voice.

"_Don't give up..."_

So fain like a whisper, yet I heard it clearly. It sounded like Shianni. Then more voices joined in. Soris, father, Nelaros, mother. All repeating the same thing over and over again.

"_Don't give up…"_

The voices started a repetition in my head. The voices were soft and distant, but they were clearer than anything. Then I saw a light. The light drew closer and closer then there was a flash. The dragon appeared again and roared, sending flames from its monstrous mouth. I could hear it talking, but I could not understand it. I shut my eyes and soon the voice faded. I opened my eyes to see Duncan and Alistair looking over me. I opened my mouth, but coughed as I did so. Duncan handed me his water skin and I drank it thankfully. When I was done I handed it back.

"It is finished. Welcome." He held out his hand and helped me up.

"Two more deaths," Alistair said looking down. When I looked around, I saw that they must have moved the bodies. "In my Joining only one of us died but it was… horrible. I'm glad at least one of you made it through." Alistair gave me a warm smile and I nodded, looking at the ground.

"Alistair, take care of your new sister. I apologize, but I have some things to do. And again, welcome, Morriana." I watched Duncan leave before turning to Alistair.

"Did you have dreams?" He asked. "I had terrible dreams after my Joining."

"Sort of…I'm honestly not sure of though." There was a pause then I spoke again. "I saw a small pond in camp, I think I should clean up." I suggested. **I just want to be alone, really.**

"Agreed. There's one for the men and another for the women. How about we go clean up and then we can go to the quarter master about the things we found." I nodded in agreement then took off. I found my way back. When I came around a wall to where I was I saw there was another woman who was cleaning her hands, she turned to me and smiled. She seemed a little old—**okay, maybe a bit more than a little… okay a lot**—and was wearing a tan colored robe.

"Ah, greetings child," she said to me. "Am I to assume that you are the new Gray Warden? Congratulations." I nodded nervously and shifted. "Shy?" I nodded again. "I am Wynne, one of the Circle Mages. What's your name?" I looked up at her kind face as she smiled.

"Morriana," I replied. **Yes. She is much easier to talk to.**

"Well met." We chatted for a while until she told me she had to get back to her tent before the Templars came looking for her. I said good bye them started to clean. When I was done with getting the gunk out of my hair I looked over to my soap to begin washing my body. But then me eyes veered over to the dagger laced at my belt. I just stared at it then grabbed it placed it on my thigh and slit it, though not deep enough to hit a vein. I wasn't sure why but I felt, somehow, like a little bit of the pain from before was lifted off me. I then cleaned the wound on my shoulder and made sure the bleeding stopped on my thigh before I threw on my clothes and armor. I grabbed my things then headed back to the fire.

Alistair was not at the fire when I arrived so I put together all the items I would not need I headed back to the quartermaster. Once I had done that I went back to my spot when I noticed the kennel master looking at one of the hound in the kennel sorrowfully. Curious, I slowly walked over.

"This is not good," he said under his breath.

"What?" I asked, making him jump, but ignored it.

"This poor hound got sick biting one of the darkspawn. It happens sometimes. But I don't like to idea of putting them down." I gave the hound a sad look.

"Is there any way I can help?" I asked without thinking.

"Come to think of it, were you in that group that went into the wilds?" I nodded.

"Yes, why?"

"Did you happen to come across a flower? White with a red center." I thought for a moment then rushed back to my pack and dug out the flower I had wrapped around a small cloth. I had picked it when we had taken a break at the pond. I quickly rushed back to him and placed it in his hands. "Yes, this is the flower. Wait here and I'll make it into an ointment." He walked away to a table not far off that had other herbs on it. "Why don't you go on in while I do this so he can have a chance to smell you?" I didn't reply. I walked up to the small gate and opened it.

The hound made a faint growl at me and I stopped. I could see in his eyes he was in pain. I slowly knelt down to him and put my hand in his head. He whined pitifully and put his head back down. I wasn't sure whether it was that he was too weak to continue growling at me, or if it was this thing I've had since I was young where animals, preferably dogs, would just fall in love with me almost instantly. Either way, I sat down next to him and stroked his fur.

A few minutes later the kennel master came in with the medicine. The dog put its head in my lap and allowed the man to give it to him. Not long later its tail began wagging his tail and lifted his head.

"And he looks better already," commented the kennel master. "You know, we could try imprinting him on you. What do you think?" I looked up at him to see if he was serious. He was.

"I… you can do that. You would really do that to me?"

"Sure, why not? Just… come back after the battle and take another look." I looked at the hound and slightly smiled.

"I'll try." I yawned. I stood up before petting the dog again and made my way back to the fire. Alistair was sitting there and I wonder how much he saw.

"Hey," he greeted. I simply nodded and sat down on my bedroll. I noticed his was a few feet from mine.

**Doesn't this guy have his own tent or, something to do than sit here and watch me?**

"So, about that arm…"

"It's fine, I cleaned it and bandaged it while I was bathing." I waited for his response. No doubt he would get mad that he didn't help or that maybe if I had fought better I wouldn't have gotten it.

"Okay," he simply said. I looked at him confused but turned my attention to the fire. "Hey, by the way, here's a blanket." He handed me a blanket from out of his pack. It was cold, but it would do. I organized my stuff without saying a word.

"Um, don't you have your own tent?" I asked after a small silence and getting my stuff set.

"I did, but I let one of the other soldiers use it. So here I am, out here with the newest member to our family."

"Hmm."

"Duncan's right. You don't talk much."

"Hmm."

_Silence _

"So, you grew up in the alienage? What was it like?" **Well, he obviously doesn't know much about it, does he?**

I shrugged.

"Life was hard but we managed."

"So, did you have a family…?" I cut him off.

"I don't need to be discussing my personal life with you, _human._" He opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it.

**Burn! Serves him right for trying to find his way into my past. **_**Shem**_**.**

I turned and laid down on my bedroll to sleep, pulling up the covers, and facing away from him. I head him mumble a "Goodnight" but I ignore him.

**Maker, I want to go home. I want all of this to end. Please don't let me wake up. Please don't make me bare this pain.**

I peeked over my shoulder to see if he was still looking at me. He was now staring at the fire, lost on thought. Turning back around I pulled up the cover over my face where I finally let tears fall silently.

**Alistair**

I knew she wasn't asleep. I don't think she knew that I knew she was crying. I wasn't sure why, but it was obvious that she was hurting.

_**What happened in the Alienage? What's hurting her so bad?**_

I had seen her with the kennel master and the hound. She seems to get along with animals so well. I smiled at the thought of the loving look she gave the mabair when she tried to calm it. It just seemed to fall in love with her and trust her immediately. I soon noticed her crying had ceased and her breathing even and slow. She was finally asleep. It's sad to think that she had to cry herself to sleep.

Shaking my head mentally, I pull out my blanket and lay down on the bed roll. I watched her for a few more minutes then closed my eyes.

"Maker, help her and give her strength for any of her reasons why she feels pain. I pray that you guide her and all of us through the troubling time and bring us close together." I silently prayed. I didn't usually pray, but it just seemed right at this time. Finally, sleep overcame me, where I fell into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
~Tower of Ishal~**

**Morriana**

I woke feeling really, really cold. At some point during the night I must have turned over so I was now facing Alistair's sleeping form in his bed roll not too far from me. I pressed my chapped lips and hugged my covers tighter. I feel a bit better seeing how I've finally slept. I dreamt about when Soris, Shianni and I were young. I remembered the day clearly. A human had come along and started bullying us. I stepped up and yelled at him. I even swung at him. I got in trouble later on, but I was okay with it. I think I got let off easily because I was eight. I almost began crying again at the memory. Trying to get the thought out of my head I sat up and noticed the quarter master was opened. And he was selling food. I decided to take a few of my coins and go over to him. After a few minutes, I ended up buying some fruit and came back to my spot by the fire.

I winced at I felt pain on my thigh.

**The cold is just making the cut hurt. **

I closed my eyes, not even caring about the pain now. A moan made me jump and open my eyes. Only then did I realize that it was Alistair and he had shifted under his covers.

It was strange being close to a human. Even when Duncan and I traveled I stayed away from him when we made camp. He said nothing about this, but I wasn't really sure what he was thinking. He stayed away and gave me space so I guess that's all that matters. Alistair moaned and when I looked over to him he was sitting up stretching. I stared back at the fire while I ate my apple. This was probably one of the first times I have eaten since I left the Alienage.

"Morning." He says to me. I just reply with a hum. There was a small silence, as if he were trying to think of something to say. "Sleep okay?" he asked after a while. **Oh, yeah, I slept just fine. I just love sleeping on the cold, hard ground. Very soothing.** I shrug my shoulders. My eyes stay at the fire, they are almost starting to burn.

_Silence_.

"I think you should probably dress in your armor, Duncan said that you were still free to roam the camp, but stay here. If you want I could give you a…" he trails off as he sees me pull out my armor and walked away, carrying the other apple, plum, and clementine with me. When I arrive at the small creak from yesterday I throw water on my face to wake myself up. Once I dried off the water on my face with a towel I looked at my reflection in the water.

There before me was a girl who seemed to be nothing than what she was before. **Was this what I had become? Perhaps. Maybe I didn't want to marry and have my own place at the Alienage, but at least there I felt safe. Now here I am, exposed to this new world that I know nothing of and to die of a darkspawn attack on me or something else. But now, I can see clear as ever in my reflection what I am: **_**Tainted**_**.** Shaking my head I throw my armor back on and eat the fruit, not wanting to go back to the fire. But when I finished them I somewhat had to. I threw out the cores and headed back where Duncan was now talking with Alistair.

Alistair looked shocked and mad at the same time. Though, anger was much over shock

"What? I won't be in the battle?" he exclaimed. I rushed over to see what they were talking about.

"What's going on?" I asked. Duncan looked at me while Alistair looked at the ground.

"As part of the king's plan you and Alistair must go up to the Tower of Ishal and light the beacon, signaling Loghain's men to charge into battle." I opened my mouth then closed it then opened it again.

"I agree with Alistair." Alistair's head shot up and he looked at me, now shock overcoming anger. **Well, it is easier to die in battle than some Tower.**

"That is not your choice," Duncan said to me calmly. "If the king wishes for the Gray Wardens to light the beacon, then Gray Wardens will be there.

"I get it, I get it." Alistair replied, his shoulders slumping. "But just so you know if the king ever asks me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no." I thought about that and tried hard not to smile.

**I think I'd like to see that. I just don't think he has the legs for it though…**

"I don't know, I think that'd be a good distraction." I say in my normal, or what I now consider normal, voice without a smile. Both he and Duncan look at me, their eyes slightly widening. "Come on, Alistair. You shimmying down the darkspawn line? We could kill them while they roll around laughing." I saw Duncan huff a laugh, pretending to sigh and Alistair smiled.

"I suppose we could. What do you think? Blue or green? I think the green would match my eyes." This time Duncan sighed and we turned our attention to him.

"Now then… the battle will begin in a few hours, so you both have time to prepare. We will send a single when it is time for you to light it. Alistair will know what to look for." We both nodded and Duncan walked away so he could prepare also. Alistair ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Before he could speak I quickly turned and headed towards the kennels to check on the hound. The kennel master wasn't there so I let myself in. The mabari laid on the ground but lifted its head and wagged its tail when I approached.

"Hey boy," I said sweetly. It licked my face and set its head down in my lap, urging my hand to pet it. I complied and scratched its head. Looking up at the sky I noticed it had to be about noon. The battle would be starting once night hit. I stayed for a few more moments then left the hound, telling it I would be back once the battle ended. I walked around the camp a while and watched some soldiers train. Many people gave me the "what in the void is a bloody elf doing here?" and scowled at me. I heard a couple talk about me behind my back; saying insults about me, even though they knew I was a Gray Warden. It was no different than when I was in the Alienage, but somehow I felt worse about myself. Alistair was off, training or talking with Duncan, so I simply went off to that water place where I had bathed before. No one was there, because they were preparing for the battle. I pulled out my blade and lifted my skirt just enough to show the cut from before. I slid the blade on my leg just below the other cut.

The pain now meant nothing to me. I felt like I wanted to feel it. I watched as the blood flowed down my leg. My blood was now a more darker kind of crimson. I shook my head, no longer wishing to see my tainted blood. I washed it away and waited for the bleeding to stop, before I stood up and looked at the sky; only a half hour until the sun would completely disappear, letting night to take its place.

"Morriana," Alistair called to me. I hurried over to him and folded my arms. "Duncan tells me that the battle is going to being soon." I nod and looked up and noticed some clouds forming together in the sky. I sighed at the knowledge that it was going to rain soon. "Come on." I nod and follow him to the bridge. We watched from there as the sun sank and disappeared, the glow showing brightly from bonfires and torches. I saw the hundreds of people from the armies, waiting for the darkspawn. The mabari hounds barked and growled at unseen enemies. Then, from the distance of nearby trees I could see a faint glow of red and orange. Another army broke through the tree line and I knew it was the darkspawn. Even from here I could hear the darkspawns growls and them clanging their weapons together to imitate the army. Then they charged.

The darkspawn flew through the field and I heard the shouting of the king as he gave his orders. But there was one call I hear clearly.

"For Ferelden!" And the army charged against the darkspawn. The two sides clashed. Shouts of the men, the cries of agony, and loud clings of weapons meeting each other rang in my ears. Fireballs flew through the air and crashed into the ruins. Rain began to fall. I looked at Alistair and he nodded. We both ran down the bridge as fast as we could, trying not to be hit by the balls of fire. All of the sudden arms caught their way around me and pulled me back. A fireball crashed right in front of me, the flames narrowly licked me. I looked up at Alistair but he gave me no time to say anything as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me the rest of the way.

We stopped as we got to the other side, panting.

"Hey!" We turned to see a mage and a soldier running towards us. "You two," the soldier said to us, "you're Gray Wardens, aren't you?" We nodded. "The tower," he pointed to the Tower of Ishal, "It's been taken!"

"What are you talking about, taken how?" Alistair shouted. I jumped as he did so.

"The darkspawn came in through the lower chambers. They're everywhere." I glance up at the tower then back at the two.

"Then we need to go up there and light it ourselves." I claim. Alistair nods and the four of us start up through the entrance that led to the Tower, only to be stopped by darkspawn. Three darkspawn ran to us so Alistair and I whipped out our weapons fought the three as the other two went off to fight some other darkspawn.

Alistair bashed his shield on one darkspawn and I slit its throat as it stumbled. Then Alistair stabbed another with his sword and pushed it off with his shield and I kicked the one I was fighting in the abdomen and decapitated it. We then went off to help the mage and soldier but they handled the rest well. However, that was not the only group of darkspawn. More were waiting further up and another closer to the Tower. By the time we killed them all we were panting and my arms ached.

"Come on!" Alistair shouted as he opened the door to the Tower. I huffed and ran in after the mage and soldier, and Alistair followed close behind.

**Alistair**

The tower was dim as we entered; our only light was from any lite torches. I tried not to think of how many soldiers died to get the amount of blood on the floor as we walked in. We entered in slowly, being cautious as to any foes that stood their ground here. As we walked through the door we saw barriers around the room and they suddenly went aflame. Growling from darkspawn caught our attention. We pulled out our weapons and as I tried to run to them I was pulled back by Morriana.

"Wait," she said, falling to her knees. She quickly disarmed a trap and stood up. I quickly looked up just in time to see a genlock emissary throw a fireball at us. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back as it crashed to the ground, sending a bit of chard floorings at us. We quickly stood and charged at the darkspawn. The mage sent a Hurlock on fire while the soldier bashed another with his shield. Morriana and I attacked the emissary. I was surprised at how well we fought together. Once they were killed we swept through the floor, killing all the rest. When we finally made it to the second floor I shook my head.

"Maker's breath," I swore. "What are all these darkspawn doing ahead of the rest of the horde? There wasn't supposed to be any resistance here." Morriana looks up at me, an eyebrow raised.

"Weren't you the one complaining you wouldn't get to fight?"

"Hey you're right; I guess there is a silver lining here after all." I reply with a smile. When she doesn't return it I lose it. "At any rate, we need to light the beacon. Loghain's men need the signal to know when to charge. She nods and we continue with the mage and soldier in tow.

The second floor was no different from the last. Many darkspawn lay in the rooms, but we seemed able to kill them. It was the same with the next floor, also. I was lucky I only received small cuts from their blades. The soldier had a large cut on his arm, but he seemed to pull through once we gave him a health potion. But as soon as we came to the fourth floor my heart went to my throat. A large monster looked up at us from its "meal" and snarled at us. It was no doubt ten feet, at least. Large horns curled from its head and what little armor it had clanked together as it stood. It roared at us. _**Well… we just get the best things, don't we?**_

The mage stayed at a range, healing any wounds we acquired, and shot spells at the ogre. The ogre hit the soldier away as he had tried to hack at its legs. Morriana rolled out of the way as it tried to hit her, too, but then she leapt to her feet, spun around, and drove her daggers into the back of the ogre's legs. It roared in anger and pain, and then kicked her away. She stumbled back, holding her ribs but stood tall and joined back into the fight. _**Maker's breath, she's tougher than she looks.**_

As the ogre tried hitting me I blocked it with my shield then slashed at its hand as it tried to grab me. It gave a great holler and jumped. When it landed the force threw me onto my back. I was dazed for a moment but when my vision cleared I saw that the ogre had Morriana in its grip and the soldier, now recovered, bashed its knee with his shield. The ogre kicked him away too, then picked him up and threw him at the mage. They collided with a thud and loud yelps, muffled by painful moans. As the ogre turned back to me, holding Morriana a little too tightly I knew it was the time to act.

I jumped to my feet, even though my now sore body protested as I did so, I charged at the monster and leaped into the air and drove my sword into the its chest. It released Morriana as it fell, causing her to hit the hard ground. I gave the blow, which, in other cases, would be mercy and my sword went through its neck. I pulled out my sword and rushed over to Morriana. She sat up while holding her ribs. When she saw me coming to her she shook her head.

"No, go to them first, I'm fine." She said to me. I stopped but then went over to our fallen fighters. I moved to soldier off the mage and saw neither had survived the blow nor battle. I sighed mournfully and closed their eyes. When I stood up I saw Morriana had lite the beacon. She lay back against the wall breathing heavily. I quickly walked to her and knelt beside her.

"You okay?" I ask and try to touch her shoulder. She hits my hand away with a flinch.

"Don't, I'm fine." I know she's no okay, but I leave her alone anyway. I reach over and give her, her weapons.

"You may want to keep them out, we don't know what else could be in this tower." She simply nods and I hand her a potion. She drinks it then begins to stand. She waves me away as I move to help her and uses the wall for support.

"Do you think Loghain got the signal?"

"He has to. I think—" I am cut off as a loud crash catches my attention. When I turn a group of darkspawn has made their way up the stairs, drawing their weapons. Morriana groans in protest as she straitens up. But, just as we are about to fight, arrows from archers fly at us before we can even attack. One pierces into my leg, bringing me down to my knee in pain. About three arrows lodge in Morriana's chest, bringing her down beside me. I stand, despite my pain. I know I have to keep her safe while she's down. But then more arrows come my way and hit my chest, causing me to fall next to Morriana. Pain erects through my chest and my breathing is off. Morriana's face is the last thing I see before I completely black out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to HikariYagami22 and CommanderHawke667 for the cool reviews. Smiles to both!**

**Chapter 5  
~Betrayal~**

**Morriana**

My senses slowly began to return to me. As I opened my eyes I allowed them to adjust to the light. My head pounded as I sat up on a…bed? I looked around where I was and realized I was in someone's house. And I was only in my small clothes.

"Ah, your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased," someone says coming to me, causing me to jump. There, in front of me was the girl from the wilds. Morrigan, if I remember.

"Yeah," I reply, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. That was probably a mistake because my head only pounded harder as I did so. **Maker I feel like my head's gonna explode.** "Ow," I whispered, grabbing my head. "Where am I?" I asked.

"You are in the wilds where I have just finished healing your wounds. You are welcome by the way." I looked at her confused.

"Wait, why am I here?"

"You do not remember?" I shake my head. Morrigan sighed. "The man who was to respond to your signal quite the field. The darkspawn won your battle." I stared at her in shock. Suddenly my head no longer hurt, as I could no longer felt anything.

"Wait, what about the king? The Gray Wardens?" **Dear Maker, please, no…**

"All dead. Mother rescued you and your friend before the darkspawn could claim you too." I looked at the ground, not even believing what was happening. **Duncan…**

"My friend," I whisper, but loud enough for her to hear. "Do you mean Alistair? The suspicious dim-witted one you met before?"

"Why, yes, him." When I look up Morrigan has a smile, amused to how I referred to Alistair. Even though I had been the one to say it, I did not take pleasure in saying it. Duncan was dead. I know he and Alistair were close that was obvious. But even I was growing close to Duncan. He was the first human I ever trusted. He was a friend of my elder, and had known my mother… **Maker, why didn't I ever ask about her?**

"He and mother are outside, should you wish to talk to them." I nodded and she handed me my clothes and armor, along with my weapons. I dressed and sheathed my weapons quickly then stood up.

"I should go to them," I say.

"I will make something to eat." Morrigan says before turning to a pot with stew in it.

Going outside into the light did no justice for my head, now that I could feel it again. Once I come outside I see Morrigan's mother and Alistair, who was staring off into the wilds.

"See," Morrigan's mother says to Alistair, "here is your fellow warden. You worry too much, young man." Alistair turns to see me closing the door behind me. He stays silent as I approach him then sighs while dropping his head.

"I can't believe you're alive." **Me either. **"I thought you were… were dead too." The words seemed hard to come out.

"Well it takes more than a few darkspawn to take me out," I reply in reassurance. Alistair looks up at me with an agonizing look.

"Duncan's dead. The king…they're all….dead. Oh, this doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother we'd be dead on top of that tower."

"Do not talk as if I am not present, lad." Morrigan's mother says, interrupting our something of a "moment".

"Oh, I didn't mean… but what do we call you? You never told us your name." She scoffs.

"Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasind folk call me 'Flemeth'. I suppose it will do." Alistair looks at her in surprise and even I know why.

"_The_ Flemeth? From the legends? Davath was right, wasn't he? You're the Witch of the Wilds, aren't you?"

"And what does that mean? I know a bit of magic and it has served you both well has it not?"

"We need to decide what to do." Alistair instantly says. "Why would Loghain do this?"

"Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature." I silently reply.

"Yes," Flemeth agrees. "Perhaps he believes the darkspawn is an army he can outmaneuver. Or perhaps he does not see the true evil behind it all." Alistair nods and looks down.

"The archdemon."

"Then we need to find this archdemon." I reply, putting my hands on my hips. **It's not like there's much else we can do.** Alistair looks up at me and blows breath.

"By ourselves? No Gray Warden has even defeated blight without a half dozen nations at his back. Not to mention… I don't know how."

"How to kill and archdemon or how to raise an army?" Flemeth asked, folding her arms. "It seems to me that those are two very different questions. Have the Gray Wardens no allies these days?"

"I-I don't know. King Cailan called to the wardens of Orlais and Arl Eamon would never stand for this."

"Arl Eamon?" I ask. "Is he someone important?"

"I suppose. He was Cailan's uncle. But he wasn't at Ostagar; he still has all his men. Of course! We can go to Redcliff and appeal to him for help."

"It has always been the Gray Warden's duty to defeat the Blight. Or did that change when I wasn't looking?" Flemeth unfolds her arms. **Uh, it changed when most of them were kind of slaughtered.**

"Well, then, there surely has to be more allies we can call upon." His head snaps towards me.

"Of course! The treaties! Gray Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, mages and elves. And I still think Arl Eamon is our best bet."

"Then perhaps you need to find these people." I turn back to Flemeth.

"Thank you for your help then. Perhaps we should get a move on."

"So you are set then? Ready to become Gray Wardens?"

"One step at a time. Better slow and organized than fast and sloppy."

"Spoken truly. Now before you go there is one more thing I can offer you." She turns as Morrigan emerges from the hut and walks to us.

"The stew is near ready mother. Shall we have two guests for the eve, or none?" Morrigan shoots a quick glare at Alistair then looks back at her mother.

"The Gray Wardens are leaving shortly girl. And you will be going with them."

"Good luck then—What?" she looks back at her mother to see some form of jesting.

"You heard me girl. If I remember correctly you still have ears." Flemeth laughs at her own comment.

"Well, if Morrigan doesn't want to come with us—" Flemeth cuts me off.

"Her magic will be very useful. She knows the wilds and how to get past the horde. She will take you to the village north of here, Lothering."

"Have I no say in this?"

"You have been itching to get out of the wilds for some time, girl. Here's your chance. And, you Wardens, I give you that which I value most in this world. Do not disappoint me."

"No to...look a gift horse in the mouth, but won't this add to our problems? Out of the wilds she's an apostate."

"If you do not wish any help from us _illegal mages_, young man, perhaps I should have left you on top of that tower."

"Point taken." **Yeah, point taken.**

"Very well," Morrigan sighs. "Allow me to get my things." She turns on her heal and stalks into the hut and Flemeth follows after her. Alistair and I simply stood there and waited. A silence lay between us, but I was thankful for it. I normally hated silence and had to have some conversation to entertain me, or simply just listen to one. But there was nothing but the sound of croaking frogs, chirping birds, and buzzing bugs around us. Finally, after a few minutes, Morrigan emerged again with her pack.

"I am at your disposal, Gray Warden. I would suggest the Lothering like mother said. Or if you prefer I shall simply be your silent guide."

"I think we should get a move on. And you can speak your mind Morrigan." She nods and begins down the path. I glance at Alistair, only to see his clouded eyes staring at the floor as he followed behind me. I sighed.

**Things cannot get any worse. **I thought about that then shook my head. **Well… yes it can.**

**Alistair**

We were about a few hours away from Flemeth's hut when all of the sudden barking catches my attention. I look up from the ground to see a mabari charging down the hill. It passed Morrigan by but stopped in front of Morriana. But he gave her no time to pet him. He turned back around the way he came and following him were a group of darkspawn. Huffing I drew my blade and shield and a fight commenced.

Morrigan froze three of the darkspawn and the hound tackled another. Morriana danced around the Hurlock general and stabbed it from behind. I stabbed one of the others and pushed it off my sword then I swung it around to sever the head of another coming behind me. Realizing the battle was over I looked to Morriana to see her with the hound. She knelt in front of him and scratched his head. The dog then bounced around and barked happily. Then it hit me.

"He must be the mabari hound from Ostagar. I think he was out there looking for you. He's… chosen you. Mabari are like that. They call it imprinting."

"I think he would help us, won't you boy? Want to help us kill darkspawn, big guy?" the dog barked happily again.

"And now we'll have this mangy beast following us? Lovely." Morrigan said while folding her arms, clearly annoyed.

"He's not mangy." Morriana said back.

"What are you going to name him?" I asked coming up next to her. She smiled as she thought. _**Maker, she has a bright smile. She needs to do that more often.**_

"Orrick." She decides. The hound, now Orrick, seemed happy with his name so she stood up.

"And now we have a dog and Alistair is still the dumbest one in the group." Morrigan says coming up and walking on. I scowled at her and shake my head._** Yes, she will be a problem, I just know it.**_

Morriana stands and loses her smile. Once again we are back on the road to Lothering. Orrick walks at her side, sometimes looking at Morrigan and me. When he gave Morrigan a slight growl I smiled. _**It's official. I love this dog.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6  
~Lothering~**

**Morriana**

The smokes from houses caught our eyes as we finally neared the village. Walking along the Imperial Highway we were about a half hour from the village. Orrick walked happily beside me while Morrigan had fallen behind once she saw we no longer needed to be lead. Alistair still followed behind and kept his head down. Neither of us wanted to talk, especially Alistair. I knew now was not a time to talk to him, so I kept my mouth shut. And Morrigan wasn't the most "social", as I should say.

As we came closer to the village I noticed a few men in leather armor standing around. One began walking up to us.

"Wake up, gentlemen we have travelers to attend to. Lead by… a knife ear?" he questioned as we came in front of him. My shoulder square at the insult.

"Er, they don't look like them other travelers." Another said. "Maybe we should let these ones pass."

"Nonsense. Greetings travelers," the bandits said with a smile.

"Highwayman. Praying on those fleeing the darkspawn, no doubt." Alistair whispered to me.

"They are fools to get in our way. I say teach them a lesson." Morrigan said, not even caring if the others heard her. **Not a bad I idea. **

"Is that any way to treat a friend? A simply ten silvers and your good to go." I glanced down at Orrick as he growled at the bandits. A couple of them flinched, but a couple others didn't notice.

"I don't have that kind of money." I replied, folding my arms.

"Ah! And if I don't believe you. What shall we do about this predicament?" **Predicament?**

"Right," the other said. "We get to ransack you corpse." I glanced at the dead Templar on the floor and knew that they weren't really lying.

"Well then," I replied pulling out my weapons. "Try." Morrigan shot lightning at the second Bandit that had been talking and the leader pulled out his weapons, realizing we meant a fight. Alistair and Orrick handled his friends and Morrigan and I fought the leader. My dagger slit across his chest and he jumped back with a cry. Morrigan froze his legs to keep her from moving anywhere. Alistair then came up beside me with Orrick, not even panting. Looking back I saw he had killed the other bandits so I turned to the leader.

"Wait," he pleaded, falling to his knees. "P-please don't kill me."

"Then hand over everything you have stolen." I demand.

"Here," he reached into his pocket and hands me a coin purse. "Just over a hundred silvers in there. Anything else is back there," he pointed to the crates behind his, his hands shaking like crazy.

"Start running," I demand, "and don't come back."

"Bless you," he cried, Morrigan unfroze his feet, almost seeming resentful to do so. "The darkspawn can have this place." He then runs away like a prey from the predator. I shake my head and walk on down the highway that lead to the village.

"Ah, Lothering," Alistair sighed. "Pretty as a painting."

"And so you have finally decided to rejoin us, have you?" Morrigan comments, folding her arms. "Falling on your blade in grief seemed like too much trouble, I take it?" Alistair turned to her, an angered look on his face.

"Is my being upset such a bother to you? Just what would you do if your mother died?"

"Before or after I stopped laughing?"

"Right very creepy, forget I asked." **Agreed.**

"Is there something you wanted to talk about, Alistair?" I ask before Morrigan can make _another _comment. She opened her mouth but I gave her my "speak-and-I-will-stab-you-to-death" look.

"The treaties, have you looked at them?" I bit my lip, deciding on what to say.

"No, I haven yet. Why?"

"Well, I think that gaining the aid of the elves, mages and dwarves, as well as Arl Eamon is our best bet." I thought for a moment then turned to Morrigan.

"What you think, Morrigan?"

"What I think is that you should go after you enemy directly. Find this man 'Loghain' and kill him."

"Yes," Alistair starts, sarcastically, "It's not like he has an army, and experience and—"

"I was asked for my opinion and I gave it." She snapped back at him.

"Okay. Why don't we go into the village and get some supplies and information. See what Loghain has done and maybe move on from there. Like I said, 'one step at a time'." Alistair nods and Morrigan looks away with an annoyed sigh.

"I can give directions on where everything is, if you like." He suggests. I shake my head.

"Perhaps later. For now let's just go into the village." We walk on into the village and meet a Templar, who informs us that there isn't much room left in Lothering. And I can see why. People hang around in tents near the chantry, and they all look scared. **Something tells me they're all aware that there's an approaching hoard coming straight this way, right? Because they seem to just want to get the sod out of the way.**

"Why don't we go to the tavern?" Morrigan suggests. "Perhaps there are things there we may get." I nod and head into the tavern. The moment we walk in and the door shuts behind us soldiers stand up and walk to us.

"Well, it seems we got lucky." The first says.

"Loghain's men." Alistair whispers to me.

"Didn't we just ask around for an elf by this very description?" the other asks.

"It seems we were lied to." **And I thought today was going to be boring.**

"Gentlemen," a woman in chantry robes and a sword at her belt said coming up. Her hair was red with just a hint of an orangey ting to it and her eyes showed kindness as she walked up. "These are no doubt more poor souls seeking refuge. There is no need for any problems." It's obvious to tell that her accent is Orlesian.

"They are more than that," the first says.

"Well, if it's a fight they want I say let them have it." Morrigan says, pulling out her stave, her hands glowing in a blue light."

"Happy to oblige." I agree, pulling out my blades.

"Right, let's make this quick." Another fight commences but they seem easier to fight than the darkspawn. The chantry girl also assists in the fight and she knows how to handle a blade. We aren't fighting long until the leader surrenders.

"Good," the woman says, putting her blade back onto her belt. "They've learned their lesson and we can all stop fighting now."

"I don't want them telling Loghain about us," Alistair steps forward with his sword.

"Please wait!" The soldier begs. Even though we all fought no one died. But while looking around at all the people in the tavern I don't think this is best.

"Alistair," I whisper to him. I put a hand in his sword arm and he looks at me. I quickly take my hand away. Armor or not I did not want to touch anyone.

"Don't do this. Not with all these people here." He hesitates, but lowers his arms. "Start running." I tell the soldier and his men. "And don't tell Loghain about us."

"T-thank you!" he rushes out with the others behind him. I shake my head and turn to the girl.

"Nice fighting." I compliment. She smiles.

"Thank you, and I apologize for interfering. I could not just stand by and watch."

"Your help was appreciated. What is your name, anyway?"

"I am Leliana, one of the lay chantry sisters. Or, at least I was."

"I'm Morriana. This is Alistair, Morrigan, and Orrick." Leliana nods in greeting.

"So where does a chantry sister learn how to fight?" Alistair ask as we sit at an empty table. Leliana merely smiles.

"I was not always a sister. I learned how to fight long before I joined the chantry. But I left that life behind when I joined."

"I see." I nodded in understanding.

"If you do not mind, I would like to join you." She utters confidently.

"Why, if I might ask."

"The Maker told me to." It takes me a moment to finally take in what she said.

"More crazy? I thought we were all full up." Alistair mumbles beside me. I resist the urge to smile.

"I know it might sound… utterly insane," Leliana blushes, "but I had a dream. A vision. The Maker wants me to help you." I look at Alistair, who shrugs, and Morrigan simply shakes her head.

"Well, since you seem to do more than just pray, I suppose you could join." Leliana smiles like a child who has gained a new toy, but Morrigan scoffs.

"Perhaps your skull was cracked worse than mother thought."

While Alistair and Morrigan order food I take Leliana outside to a merchant, after persuading him to lower his prices for the revered mother, and bought Leliana some leather armor. I gave her my dagger from my belt for her to use with hers and she took it gladly. While talking with her I got to hear her vision. And, to be honest, it didn't completely sound _that _insane.

So we then headed back to the tavern, though stopped when we met a little boy. He told us about losing his mother, and I offered to help him, but he refused. I gave him a silver so he could eat. He asked me if I was really an elf, **which I was sure my ears gave me away**, And he told me that I was a very nice elf, then walked away to find his mother. I almost smiled as he walked off, but stopped as when I stood and went to the tavern. As the food was coming and we pretty much ate in silence. I gave Orrick some pieces of my food, which made him happy.

Paying for the food we all then left the tavern. I saw the sun once we were outside and saw it was about noon. I ordered out everyone to tasks. Morrigan, Leliana, and I went to do the chanter board requests to get rid of some bandits while Alistair and Orrick went to buy supplies we might need. He didn't agree completely at first but went anyway.

On our way out near the mill where the groups of Bandits were, but I was stopped when I saw a man in a cage. Then man stood tall with strong muscle, and I was almost afraid to approach him, but did.

"What do you need, elf? I will not entertain you as all the others hoped." **Well, he's pretty strait forward.**

"Who—or what—are you?" I asked

"I am Sten of the Beressad. A Qunari." He replied.

"Then why are you caged?"

"I can tell you that," Leliana pipes up. "This man murdered an entire family. Including the children." Her look turns sad as she talks.

"It is as she says." Sten replies.

"So you are to just stay here and die of hunger or the darkspawn?" he nods. "Well, you seem skilled. How 'bout you come with us. We need skilled help. "

"'Skilled help'? You are a Gray Warden?" I nod. "Surprising. Very well. I will join you, Warden. And in doing so I shall find my atonement." I open my mouth to reply, but close it. **Well, it's better than waiting for the darkspawn to kill you. Or starving…or both.** I then look at Leliana.

"Can you unlock the cage?" she nods and walks up to the cage, unlocking it without much trouble. "You have to teach me to do that," I mutter to her. She smiles proudly. "Well then, Sten, take this armor," I took out the armor from my pack and gave it to him. He threw it on over his clothes and adjusted them to fit him. I gave him my sword to use until he found another weapon suitable for him. "Well, then, how about killing some bandits with us." He merely nods. I cock my head and lead them on.

**Alistair**

I still wasn't sure why I had to be the one to get the supplies, but I did anyway. So when I was done selling what needed to be and bought what we needed I walked around Lothering and stopped at the chantry when I heard shouting.

"There is no hope! The evil is upon us! We will suffer in darkspawn hands!" I walk over to the man shouting, surrounded by only a couple of people who looked scared. Well, other than the Templar who looked utterly board and annoyed. "There!" the man points to me, causing me to jump. "This minion will be the first to destroy us! Can you not see the destruction he will bring upon us?" It is easy to tell he is traumatized.

"What happened to you?" I ask, walking up to him.

"I… I watched the black horde descend among my people. I ran as I heard my wife's screams…" he breaks off and looks away, tears shinning in his eyes.

"Well, shouting isn't going to help." I state. _**Obviously**_**.** He turned back to me, anger now filling his eyes.

"Are you… calling me a coward?" he demands. Orrick growls beside me.

"I'm calling you an idiot. Just listen to yourself." His eyes lose the anger and it is now a mix of fear, agony, and shame.

"I… I am ashamed. But the monsters will take you all! The darkness will come!" He runs off so quickly he is a blur. I turn to the other people who had listened.

"He was right, wasn't he?" a chantry man asks. "There is no hope for us."

"Yes there is," I answer. "Just keep up your courage."

"But we can't fight." Another man says.

"Why not go to Denerim?" I ask. They look at each other.

"Yes. Perhaps that is best." The walk away, no doubt to tell their families they are moving north.

"Thank the Maker," the Templar says once they leave. "Maybe now that the Chasind is gone my headache will go too." I shake my head, but a glimpse of red catches me. I see near the Chantry there is a rose bush, dead as it would be, but it had a single rose on it. Walking to it, I kneel down beside it as contemplate it. It is a beautiful red color and full of life.

_**How can something so beautiful exists in a world of such despair and ugliness?**_

Suddenly, an image of Morriana pops in my mind. The way her hair blew around in the wind as she sat in the wilds, lost in thought. How she looked peaceful as she slept. It wasn't long until I realized I was smiling. I found a cloth in my pack and picked the rose, wrapping it in the cloth. I stood up, brushed the dirt off my armor and headed into the chantry. Immediately when I entered people stood around or were kneeling down praying. I felt sorry for all these poor souls. I jumped as someone called my name.

"Alistair?" I turned to seem a tall man in armor walking to me.

"Ser Donal?" I say in surprise. I had not expected one of the knights from Redcliff to be here.

"It's good to see you," he smiles and claps my shoulder.

"Same here. But, what are you doing here in Lothering?" he sighs and his face falls.

"The Arl has fallen ill. We are in search of the Urn of Sacred Ashes in hope of it curing him."

"Ill?" I repeat. "You think this legend will help?" he shrugs.

"I haven't any idea. The Arlessa has us searching all over Ferelden."

"Maker's breath," I swear, shaking my head. "We were going to Redcliff soon. Perhaps we could help." I suggest.

"We?"

"You heard I was a Gray Warden, right?"

"Yes, and I heard they all died at Ostagar."

"Well, another and I are the last ones in Ferelden. We are using the Warden treaties to unit Ferelden against the Blight." His eyes cast down.

"Thank the Maker. I didn't believe Loghain's word for a second. You just proved me right."

"Loghain's word? What has he said about us?" He looks up, his eyes sad.

"He has said that the Gray Wardens are traitors. That they lead the king to their death and that he 'saw' what they were doing in time and pulled his men out from the 'trap'." I gasp and shake my head.

"I can't believe this."

"Nor could I. Alistair, I do not believe him. For now I must return to Redcliff, even though I have nothing." I put a hand to his shoulder.

"Then I will see you when we get there." He nods once and puts his other hand on my shoulder.

"Maker keep you safe." He said to me with a small smile.

"And you, Donal." Ser Donal leaves without another word and I am left in the chantry. Suddenly my shoulders feel heavy and I have the need to be out of here. I walk a fast pace out of the chantry.

"Alistair." I look to see Morriana with the others, and now a very tall man with a two handed sword at his back. I walk over and look at him, then look at Morriana.

"His name is Sten and he's coming with us." I simply nod, knowing she probably recruited him on a good judgment.

"Well, there is still the fact that he murdered and entire family." Morrigan throws in. I look in shock at Morriana, but she seems content with this 'Sten'.

"We'll talk about it later," Morriana promises me. "For now, I want to get out of Lothering before we need to do something. I have the money from the chanter's board, so we should move on."

"Right," I agree. "We might as well set up camp outside of Lothering." She nods and cocks her had to move on.

As we came to the other side where the highway was again we started up but noticed some darkspawn tormenting two dwarves.

"Someone help us!" One shouts as a darkspawn advances closer to him. Leliana strings an arrow to a bow, which Morriana must have recently given her, and shoots an arrow through its neck. It fell with a thud and we take care of the rest. There are only four remaining, so it doesn't take long for the fight to end. My heart is barely even pounding hard when it ends. Morriana turns to the cowering dwarves. They walk up to her once they know we mean them no harm. The first appears to be older than the second, and his messy light brown hair hung in his face. The boy next to him doesn't look much like him. His eyes were lighter and his hair blonde. A wagon lay behind them, along with broken crates.

"Finely timely arrival there, my friend. I'm much obliged." Morriana nods in greeting.

"Agreed. These darkspawn have been a pest," she agrees.

"My name is BodahnFeddic, merchant and this is my boy, Sandle. Say hello, my boy." Sandle smiles up at us.

"Hello." He says.

"So what brings you all here?"

"I don't exactly believe that we may be going the same way. Gray Warden business." Morriana replied with a shrug.

"Truly? Well, okay then. Stay safe, my friend. Come, Sandal, lets clean up. Say good bye to the kind lady."

"Good bye, kind lady." They turn on their heels and begin to clean up. So we turn also and head off along the road.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, just throwing this out there, this chap is more kind of the dark sort. Awesome reviews so far. (*Air high fives*) **

**I like the cool reviews. Reviews make me smile. Except for the ones that make me frown. Cause then I'm frowning and not smiling. And I like smiling, because it makes me smile... hopefully that made sense to someone. **

**Happy day after the 4****th**** of July! Well, day after 4****th**** of July. Love the cool lights in the sky. Plus, it's always funny when someone's yard catches on fire… Well, most of the time. Anyway, onto the story.**

**Chapter 7  
~Pain~**

**Morriana**

The moon shined over us, giving us some light. We decided to walk a bit into the night to get at a good distance from Lothering. Finally we picked a spot and decided to make camp. Alistair built a fire while Leliana and I rolled out our bed rolls. I set mine on the opposite side of the fire, away from everyone else. When Leliana looked at me strange I simply said it became a habit of mine to keep at a distance from other people. She did not object, nor did Alistair or Sten. Sten mostly because he did not talk. Morrigan set up her camp further away from the rest of us, and I wish I could do so to. But what reason could I have? She grew up in the wilds so she was used to not being around people and being alone most of the time. Since I was the leader, since Alistair made it obvious that he didn't want to be, I needed to stay with the camp.

An awkward silence held around us as we worked. I pulled out a map of Ferelden and studied it. I looked up at Alistair as he went through his pack, sorting out its contents.

"Alistair," I called. He looked up me and I gestured my hand for him to come to me. He walked over and sat next to me. I shifted over a bit, seeing how close he was to me and set the map down in from of us. "Any ideas?"

"Well, I would think about going to Redcliff first and, I probably should have told you this, but, the Arl is sick." I look at him, hoping he's joking. And by the look he gives me he wants to be joking.

"Well, I think that since we're going to the Circle anyway, when we go there we can ask the mages to help them, since they are supposed to help us anyway."

"Yes, I think that could work. And then we could go to Redcliff afterward to see how he is. Then we might want to go to the Bercillian forest," he pointed to a green shaded spot to the west to point it out, "to get the elves' help."

"And then Orzammar."

"Yes. But at some point we may have to go to Denerim. However, Loghain will be there, though." I hummed and stared at the map. "I just hope Eamon is alright." **Eamon? He didn't call him Arl Eamon. Perhaps…**

"So, how do you know Arl Eamon?" I asked, not looking at him. He didn't reply right away, as if he were planning what to say.

"Well, my mother was a servant girl in Redcliff castle. She… died giving birth to me and Arl Eamon took me in. He was good to me. And he didn't have to be." I looked at him to see his eyes cast down to the dirt.

"What about your father." This time it was obvious he hesitated.

"My father died too. Though, I never knew who he was."

"Are you sure it wasn't Arl Eamon."

"Oh, positive. But, still…" he drifted off with a shrug. "I remember I had a locket with Andraste's holy symbol on it. It was the only thing I had from her. Eventually, Eamon married a woman from Orlais. She despised me and believed the rumors that I was Eamon's bastard child. So, there I was, packed and sent off to the monastery at age ten. I felt that I was just cast off. I was so mad at Eamon I took my mother's amulet and threw it at the wall." He shook his head. "Stupid, stupid thing to do. The only thing I had of my mother and I lost it to my own stupidity." I pressed my lips together, unsure of what to say.

"Well," I started, "if none of that happened maybe you wouldn't be a Gray Warden, or have met Duncan." When Duncan's name falls past my lips Alistair's face is etched with sorrow. "I'm sorry." I say softly. He says nothing and does nothing, but stares at the fire. "Do you want to talk about it?" I let a silence hang in the air to let him decide what to say.

"I… should be handling this better." He says his eyes shin with unshed tears. "Any one of us could die in battle. I shouldn't lose it. Not with the Blight and everything else and… I'm sorry." I stare at him in shock. No human in my life—ever—apologized to me. For anything.

"There is no need to apologize, Alistair."

"I don't think he had any family to speak of."

"Well, he had you." He looks at me as I say this with an almost grateful look.

"Yes, I suppose he did. He came from Highever, or so he said. I want to have a proper funeral for him and build a memorial to him. For all of the Gray Wardens."

"I think he would like that." I catch myself from smiling. Mainly because I don't want to. I don't want to be happy anymore. I turn my head to the fire and watch the flames dance around each other and hear it crackle.

"Maybe you could come with me, when I go to Highever. I think he'd like that. So would I." I do not reply. Instead I roll up the map and put it up.

"I'll take first watch." I say and stand.

"Um, okay." He says, noticing I haven't yet said whether I would go with him or not. "Leliana is making dinner. Probably some fancy Orlesian soup or something."

"Then I will go bathe."

"I will too, but in the other lake on the other side." I nod. Taking the soap from my pack, along with a towel I walk off towards the lake I noticed a bit further off. Orrick decides to come along so I know I won't be entirely alone. I took my time bathing, mainly because I didn't want to be back with everyone else. When I finished I decided to take my dagger and, instead of cutting my leg, I made a cut on my wrist. I felt like I had the first time. Like this was my only escape. Orrick noticed my wound and tried to lick it.

"No boy," I said softly. He whined and tried again. I pushed him away, slightly, and seemed to hurt his feelings. So he simply laid down beside me. I am not mad at him. He knows I am hurt and wants to help. But this word _help _is something I won't have now. I don't know what can. When I put a hand on my cheek I feel that it is now wet. I take the dagger again and slit my other wrist. This physical pain collides with my emotional. But this pain is something I want to feel. I need to feel it to remember and realized what happened—what I've done.

_Flashback:_

_Lunging at the first I manage to have my fist meet his face, but the other grabs my arms and I am suddenly on the floor. He says something to me, but my rushing flow of adrenalin is pulsing in me. It is only when I feel pain within me that I come crashing back. The second that had pulled me off was on top of me and… _

_Pain was simply flowing through me. I wanted to scream and plead for help. But I couldn't find my voice. Tears streak down my face and I hear the second cheering him on, and laughing. Laughing at my pain. His hands gripped my shoulder so tight I swear there were bruises there now. It felt like eternity when he finally pulls himself out from me, and this time I groan in pain. He stands and I see the sweat at his forehead that was once covered by his helm. The other claps his shoulder and moves toward me for his turn as the other pulls up his pants. By the time his buckles are in place the other is in front of me, ready for his fun and my pain to begin again when a gurgle like scream makes us all freeze. He moves away from me and both of them pull out their weapons. _

_Soris turns the corner into the room, looking half nervous half battle ready. A cross bow lay in one hand and a sword in the other. I grab my underwear and pull them on then pull down my dress over my legs before he has a chance to see me. I look up as one of the guards laughs._

"_What's this? An elf with a stolen blade?" He is about to say something else, but stops as Soris slides the sword past him and I catch it in my waiting hand. I stand and face my captors. I swing my sword at one, slicing open his throat and then stabbing the other through the stomach. I straiten and stare at their bodies. Maker, the first time I've ever killed someone. Suddenly, the past events rush to me like I've been slapped and drop the sword, double over, and bile comes from my mouth. I cough and choke, as more tears fall. Soris pulls back the hair from my face, but I do not fear his touch. I know it like I know words._

_I straiten after a few moments and I put my hand to my knees, trying to slow my fast beating heart._

"_Cousin," Soris says softly. "Did… did they—"_

"_No," I immediately say. "They just roughed me up a bit, that's all." He knows this is a lie, but neither one of us wants to call it. _

"_Come on, we have to fine Nelaros and get to Shianni and the others." I grab his arm so tightly he winces._

"_What? Nelaros is here? And where did you even get that sword?"_

"_After you and the others were taken we made a plan to get you all. The Gray Warden, Duncan, gave me the sword to fight my way in. And Nelaros wanted to come and help. Now come on." He grabs my arm and forces the sword into my shaking hands._

_We run down the halls and I desperately try not to think of what just happened. More guards advance towards us and we run down the hall. I find strength in my new found pain and slay them before Soris can even shoot them. It is obvious to tell that he is now scared. Not just for the others, but what will become of me. We enter one room to find it is empty, but it is also an armory. Soris looks away as I throw the wedding gown off and through on some leather armor. I buckle the boots and stand, taking my mother's dagger I had stashed in my boots long before the wedding._

_I don't let Soris put on armor, for I do not want to waste more time. The more we go through this place the more I want out. But when we enter the next room, leading into the direction where Shianni should be I see a guard piercing his sword through someone. As the body falls to the floor, my heart clenches. Nelaros bleeds on the floor and this fuels my anger. I lash the two who slayed him slicing open ones chest and stabbing him while Soris finally takes a shot into his chest and I push the dagger into his throat. _

_I fall to my knees next to Nelaros. His eyes remain open and death clouds them. I do not cry, but my heart tightens so much it hurts. I bow my head, mournfully, then see something sparkle within his closed hand. The ring lay in his palm and when I hold it to the light I realize that it was supposed to by my wedding ring. I pull off my glove and slip it on my finger. A perfect fit. I close his eyes and stand. Soris shakes his head, his eyes sparkle with tears. _**Well… at least I don't have to marry him. Maker, please guide him to you.**

"_Soris, we must go. We can't let his death slow us." He nods and holds back the tears. We continue on and finally—finally—get to the door where Shianni must be. Whipping out my dagger and sword I give the door a hard kick and my heart clenches more it is only one little slip from completely bursting. Shianni lay on the floor and the human, Vaughn, stands above her. I know from her look, since I did it too, that he has raped her. He turns to me and is about to say something, but I don't give him the time. My sword flies to his neck, severing his treacherous head. Soris shoots the other two guards before they can attack._

_I fall next to Shianni and wrap my arms around her. She holds onto me tightly and sobs into my shoulder. I look up at Soris, meeting his agonizing gaze. He kneels down next to her too and tries to put a hand on her shoulder, but she flinches away and whimpers. But now I see the tears have finally fallen. If he would not cry for the deaths of the men we killed, or Nelaors's murder, he would cry for our cousin, our Shianni. _

"_Find the others," I tell him over Shianni's crying. He doesn't say anything. He walks off to a door, and pulls the keys off Vaughn's body to open it. Shianni moves away from me to look at me._

"_They're dead now, right?" she asks. I cup her cheeks and muster up a small smile._

"_Yes. The damn blighters are dead now. And you're going to go home with me and Soris and everyone else." She nods, biting her lip. I know she wants to cry more, but stops as the others come, so I help Shianni up. I see Valora about to speak, but I shake my head. It is just too soon._

"_Let's get out of here," Soris says, putting a hand to my shoulder. I nod and help Shianni down the corridors with the girls behind me._

_Flashback ends_

I sob harder as I remember the pain. It was all my fault. Why didn't I get there faster? Why couldn't I have saved Nelaros? Why did I let them do this to me? I cut my wrist again, and again until I stop crying, which ended in me having cuts going up my arm up the middle of my arm, but I didn't care. I stared at the cuts and thought on it. When I saw them they seemed to symbolize what I do and don't deserve. What I don't: freedom, life, care, family, friends, love and hope. What I do: pain, fear, loss, darkness, death and destruction.

I washed away the blood and rubbed my eyes with water to get rid of all signs of crying. When I looked as I did before (but without blood and gore and sweat) I stood and walked back to camp.

I might have been longer than expected because I saw Alistair and Sten asleep and Leliana sitting on her bedroll, taking up my watch. I come up and sit next to her.

"Oh," she said once she noticed me. "I see you are back."

"Sorry I took so long. I'm surprised you guys didn't come and look for me."

"Well, we thought that you needed some time. Plus, you had—Orrick was it?—with you so we didn't worry too much." I nodded and looked back at the fire. "I... I actually did look for you, though," she finally admits. "I heard you… crying so I left you alone."

"Oh." **Damn it! Caught by the chantry sister! **"Yeah, all this has been tough. I guess I just needed to let something out." I lie. She does not recognize my lie and nods with a smile.

"Very understandable. Being one of the last Gray Wardens in Ferelden who is uniting the nation against the Blight would be pretty stressful." I nod. "Why don't you sleep?" She tries to put a hand on my shoulder and I flinch. She takes the hint I don't like being touched so she takes her hand away.

"I'm okay, Leliana. I'll take watch from here, okay?" She is hesitant at first but complies. She stands and walks to her bedroll and lies down. I take some of the stew she had made and walk to the other side of the fire to my bedroll. Orrick follows and lies at my side. I watch the fire burn amongst itself and don't even care as my eyes burn. When more light seems to pour through around me I notice the sun is now rising and I have not slept. But, right now, I don't really care.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8  
~Broken Circle~  
Alistair**

The bright sun met my eyes and I groaned. Another dream about darkspawn. Of course, at this point, I was used to it. I sat up, stretching my now aching joints from sleeping in my armor. _**Note to self: when we get to the next town, buy a tent and remove armor at night.**_ Leliana is still asleep and Sten is gone from his bedroll. Morrigan remains at her small "camp-near-a-camp-". The only person who is awake is Morriana, which doesn't surprise me. I swear she never sleeps. _**Maybe she's part owl or something.**_ And the darks circles under her eyes prove my point. She does not see me wake. Her eyes are set on the dead fire pit.

When I stand I catch her attention. I smile at her but she doesn't return it. Maker I wonder if she thinks "if I smile it would kill me, so I kind of want to stay alive". I walk over and stand next to her.

"So, you think we should travel northward today?" I ask. I know she is capable of a conversation.

"Perhaps. How many days do you think it would take to get there?" I hum.

"By my guess, about five days. Six or seven, if the weather decides it hate us." She looks up at the sky, and I do too. By the dark clouds the weather has chosen to hate us.

"Well, then, we should get a move on." She stands and whips the dirt off her leather armor.

"I'll wake up Leliana if you wake up Morrigan." _**Maker, but I don't want to be the one who wakes Morrigan and ends up begin a toad then set on fire. That would be a damper on my day.**_ She doesn't reply. Just stands and walks to Morrigan's camp. I walk to Leliana and gently shake her.

"Come on, Leliana, you have to get up." She groans and rubs her eyes. Once I am sure she is awake and won't fall back to sleep I head to my spot and pack up my things. A bark causes me to jump as Sten and Orrick emerge from the woods. Orrick stops in front of me and drops a stick. I laugh and throw the stick for him. He bolts after it and I shake my head. _**Just another puppy.**_

"And I was wondering if Alistair was going to chase after the stick too." I sigh and turn as Morriana and Morrigan walk up to us.

"Well, if I did then the dog would beat me to it. Then I would have to wrestle him to get the stick and mess up my hair. I don't like messing up my hair this early in the morning. Maybe tonight I'll chase after it. Just for you." I smirk as her comment back fires. She scoffs while shaking her head. Morriana doesn't even acknowledge our bickering. She quickly packs up her thing and once Leliana and Sten are done and Orrick comes back with his stick we head off.

Morriana leads, since she has the map, and Leliana and Sten follow. I go behind them and Morrigan behind me. I resist the urge to look behind me, thinking she is about to put some weird witch spell-thing on me. I focus on the road ahead of me and Orrick rubs against me so I can throw the stick for him again. I throw it ahead of me but when he finds it, he does not come to me. He walks backwards in front of Morriana, waiting for her to throw it. I can see her between Leliana and Sten as she throws it for him. Then he runs back to me with it then came back to me with it. We did this a few times with him switching between us. Apparently, this dog has grown to like me.

We have probably been walking about an hour before Sten walks faster to be next to Morriana.

"I don't understand, you look like a woman." He says to her, obvious that he doesn't plan on being quiet.

"I am a woman," Morriana replies, throwing the stick for Orrick.

"Then it follows that you cannot be a Gray Warden." Even I am confused at his statement. I had seen a few lady wardens, and other females fighting in general in my life.

"Okay… why is that?"

"Woman are priests, artisans, shopkeepers or farmers. They don't fight." Sten seems obvious to stand his ground in his opinion. Orrick barks at my feet, so I throw the stick, pretending I don't hear them.

"Well, what if they don't want to be any of those things?"

"And does it matter? We do not get to choose who we are. A man does not choose whether he is clever or foolish. The size of his hands, the color of his skin or hair. We do not get to choose these things. And we do not get to choose the things that happen in our life." This seems to have struck Morriana, seeing how she begins to slow her pace. After a moment, she picks it back up and looks at Sten.

"That may be true, but a person can decide what to do with their lives." She states, and I couldn't have said it better myself.

"Can they? We'll see about that." Sten looks down at her but I see something that wasn't there before. I didn't think it possible for this giant creature to look at Morriana with this newfound respect. However, it's there either way. A long silence hangs in the air and the only sound is our feet trudging on the road, Orrick's happy barking, and the natural sounds of the forest.

The wind blows around us, and I get a cold chill. It's obvious winter's coming, which means traveling will be more difficult. I sigh at the thought of traveling in the snow.

"So, Alistair?" Leliana falls at my side. "You used to be a brother, before you were a Templar?" I lifted an eyebrow at how she knew and she giggled. "Morriana told me."

"Well, I was never a full Templar. I still hadn't taken my vows."

"Oh. Did you enjoy it in the cloister?" I chuckled.

"It used to get so quiet that I would start screaming until one of the brothers came in. You never know right?"

"I… no. I enjoyed the quiet. It gave me such a sense of peace and tranquility." I sigh, then laughed again.

"Suit yourself. But the looks on their faces was always priceless." Leliana smiled and shook her head.

We traveled all day and took a break every couple of hours. I noticed the sun was finally dropping and the light dimmed.

"I think we should set up camp," I suggested to Morriana, when I walked up to her. She looked up at the sky and thought.

"Why don't we walk a bit longer? We'd cover more ground that way." I nodded and we walked until the sun was only a strip on the horizon. We found a clearing in the woods and set up. This time Leliana set up the fire with Sten while Morriana disappeared to hunt, along with Orrick. Morrigan did the same "I have my own camp" thing again and set up a few yards away. Not that I'm complaining, of course.

Morriana helped Leliana with dinner as Sten scouted the perimeter. So I went off to wash. When I came back dinner was ready. We all ate in silence, since we had a long ways to go before we'd be have delightful conversations and gossiping with each other.

Sten was the first to sleep, then Leliana. Morriana, like she had the night before, put out her bedroll on the other side of the fire, away from us. I walked over and sat down beside her. Orrick laid on her other side, chewing the bone of the animal she killed. Morriana poked at the fire with a long stick and watched at the wood changed and burned.

"You know," I started, though she did not look at me, "maybe you should sleep. I can take up the first watch." She shook her head.

"I'm fine, I can…" she looked at me and saw I had no thought of backing off. She sighed, slightly irritated. "Fine. I'll try to sleep." She moved so she could get under the covered on her bedroll. I smiled, proudly, and stood.

"Good night, Morriana." She paused for a moment, then mumbled "same". She closed her eyes to sleep. I walked to my bedroll and sat down. My eyes drifted to Morriana and I found myself smiling, once again.

###

**Morriana**

It took up about five days to get to the Circle, like Alistair said. The colossal tower came into view and I sighed in relief. It was about noon so we still had time in our day. I walked up to the docks where a Templar stood, apparently manning the boat there.

"Hold," he said we came to him. "You're not looking to get across, are you?"

"Well, yes, we need the help of the mages."

"Sorry. No one if to go across. So go on and get out of here."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter, so gone on. Shoo. Get out of here, or else." He demanded. I lifted an eyebrow.

"Or else, what? You'll attack me with the boat paddles?" **Wow. This has to be the **_**scariest **_**Templar I've ever seen. I mean, he's manning a ferry! And nothing is more terrifying than that. I hope he doesn't attack me. It's worse than any Templar. **

"Maybe we could work out something." Alistair suggested.

"Hmm, now that you mentioned it I am a bit famished." I stayed silent, unknowing the word.

"Pashera," Sten mutters passing me. "Here, take these." He hands the Templar a small bag of… cookies?

"Sten, where did you get those?" I asked him, trying not to smile at the Templar's five year old delight.

"At the last village we passed." That's right. We passed a village the day before and got tents and more supplies. Sten had wondered off. And now I knew. He was probably off stealing cookies for kids and candy from a grown man.

"Alright," the Templar said, whipping the crumbs from his face. "You scratch my back I scratch yours. Come along, I suppose." The six of us-since Morrigan turned into a bird (while scaring the crap out of the Templar in the process, much to my delight. I held back from smiling though) and perched herself on my shoulder- climbed in and the Templar rowed us across. It only took us five minutes before we got to the tower. We the boat hit the land where it Circle was we climbed out. The Templar, Carroll, as he told us, took the boat back to the other side of the lake without another word. Morrigan shimmered back to normal and received a disgusted look from Alistair.

As we walked in I noticed everyone looked worried. Even the Templars who had their helmets on made themselves obvious to that. There were only a couple of mages here and they were being watched by two Templars.

"…And I want the doors locked at all times," a man said to a Templar. The Templar bowed and headed off to do… whatever he was to do. "Now we wait and pray." He turns to me as the doors closed and looks at us in anger. "And what are you doing here? I specifically told Carroll not to let anyone pass."

"Knight Commander Gregior," Alistair said, walking up.

"Alistair? I heard you had become a Warden. And now here you are."

"Yes well, it's more complicated then 'I was gone and now I'm back'."

"I will talk later. For now we have a mess to deal with."

"What kind?" I ask. He stays silent, thinking of what to say.

"Demons and abominations stalk the halls. We no longer have control of the Circle." I heard Sten's scoff from behind me.

"Mages." I imagined Morrigan rolling her eyes at him, but focused on this Knight Commander.

"We have sent for the Right of Annulment." He states and Alistair gasps.

"I take it that's not a good thing?" I ask Alistair.

"It means that they've sent for reinforcements to destroy the tower and everyone in it." Now it is my turn to gasp.

"You can't do this." I tell Gregior. "What if we go in and take care of this problem?"

"I assure you, you will not just one or two abominations. Hundreds are in there."

"These demons and abominations will not stand against us." I lift my chin to show I will not back down. He sighs.

"Very well, you may pass. But know that I will not open the door until First Enchanter Irving come to me." I nod and we walk to the opening doors. I gasped as they shut behind us and I saw what laid beyond the doors. Bodies littered the floor, and the coppery smell of blood and death filled the air. We were careful not to step on the bodies as we passed. The apprentice quarters were completely empty save for the furniture toppled over. I tried not to think of who these people were or, especially, how old they were. I didn't want to think about these mages and Templars on the floor. Simply looking at them made me sick.

We got into the next room to see a woman freezing a flaming monster. As it slipped into the floor, dead, she turned around. But when she saw us she went back into her battle stance, her staff pointed at us.

"Step no further," she threatened. "I will not let you harm these children." Looking around the room I saw a few kids, two of them were maybe seven or eight, and a couple of twelve and thirteen year olds. Near them were older mages, though most were in their early twenties or late teens. I held up my palms to the mage in front of me, when I noticed she looked familiar.

"I won't harm anyone. But, do you remember me, Wynne? We met at Ostagar." She thought for a moment, then her eyes widened.

"Morriana? But… what are you doing here?" she lowered her staff and I lowered my hands.

"We needed help from the mages against the Blight," Alistair explains, stepping forward. "When we heard what was happening to the tower we wanted to help clear out the demons and abominations and look for survivors." Wynne sighed.

"So, they have sent for reinforcements?" We nodded. She shook her head and put up her staff. "They abandon us to our fate, leaving us to die from these creatures. Please, if you are going to fight them, I wish to come."

"Of course, Wynne," I said.

"Should we even try to help these Circle mages?" Morrigan asked, stepping up. "They allow themselves to be corralled like cattle and submit themselves to people who will simply use them." I looked at Morrigan and shook my head.

"It doesn't matter. Either way they are strong and I will not abandon them like the Templars already have." She sighed, irritated.

"Fine. Have it your way."

"Okay, Leliana, stay here and help the kids. You too Morrigan. Sten, Wynne, Orrick, and Alistair, you come with me." They nodded. Leliana went to the kids and began talking with them in her 'cute-voice' and Morrigan leaned against the wall, already board and irritated. I know I'd probably be if I had to stay in a room with a few kids and frightened people. "Come on." We followed Wynne to the magical barrier that she must have put up.

"I'm surprised I was able to hold it this long." She muttered. I put a hand to her shoulder and she looked at me.

"You did what you had to do to protect these people." She smiled at me the raised her staff to the barrier and it disappeared.

"Let's move." I nodded and pulled out my sword and dagger, and the others pulled out their weapons also. Waking through the hall they ended up in, what seemed to be, the library. I jumped as large monsters growled an unearthly growl at me.

"Abominations," Alistair yelled. One of the abominations charged at me. It swung its claws at me and I barely missed it. I stabbed my dagger into its arm and the sword through its middle. Wynne shot a spell at another and Sten hacked at it with his great sword. Alistair bashed his shield into the last one then sliced his sword across its face.

"Good fight." I commented. I noticed Alistair's furrowed brows. Then, all of the sudden, Alistair pushed Sten and Wynne back and grabbed my arm. Orrick noticed his actions and backed away. Alistair jerked me towards him, and I was about to hit him when the dead abominations suddenly exploded. Alistair let go of my arm and laughed.

"Why am I always saving you from explosions?" He asked me. I sighed as Orrick trotted back to us and we began to continue on.

"Why must I save you from animals?"

"That happened one time." He stated.

"So far," I said. I noticed robes on the abominations and wondered if these were actual people. "Alistair, these abominations… were they mages." Alistair bits his lips and nods.

"Blood mages are capable of turning other mages into them. The best thing to do for them is to give them a mercy killing them before they harm others. Or prevent them from harming more." I nodded, sadly and then we continued on. Alistair told me the difference in the demons: desire, rage, hunger, sloth, and pride. In all honesty, I wasn't sure which one scared me more.

We stopped when more abominations came towards us, this time with one of those fire demons. Wynne was able to freeze it, killing it immediately. Sten and I took one while Alistair and Orrick took another. It seemed as the entire floor was filled with these monsters. We were finally able to get to the second floor.

On the second floor we found a Tranquil named Owain. People that were once mages but then were cut off from the Fade. No emotions, no dreams, no hopes, no thoughts. It always scared me. He was apparently cleaning the stock room. He explained to us that it was Uldred who began all of this. Niall had a litany to use against the blood mages and Wynne suggested that we had to find him, which I agreed to. We took a break in the stock room, since it seemed to be safe. We were back on our feet and moving back on in about a half an hour.

As we moved on we came into a room where we were met with some undead being controlled by an arcane horror. In every room we went in there were either demons, abominations, undead, or all of them. We fought against them and won every battle. Well, not without a few cuts in the process. I managed to get cut on my side, which Wynne healed instantly, leaving a scar. We finally came to the room that should lead to the next floor. However, there was what Alistair and Wynne identified as, a shade. We walked in and a light surrounded someone and turned them into another shade and undead rose from the floor.

Sten and Alistair attacked the undead, swinging their blades so that their head rolled away. As one shade tried to hit me I blocked it with my sword and slashed its arm with my dagger. I ducked from its next attack and raised my sword to go through its stomach. The second tried to come behind me but I quickly spun around and through my sword down onto its head. Two people came to us, their faces emotionless.

"Thank you," one said. "That was very unnerving." I jumped at them but then remember they were Tranquil.

"Go down to the first level. Other people are down there and they will help you." Wynne told them. They bowed their heads and walked out of the room. I blew breath and my limbs ached. We were covered in blood and my sore muscles protested as we trekked up the stairs, but I had to move on.

The third floor was not better. We found a few desire demons that had a few Templars under their control so they attacked us. Alistair took a nasty blow to the head by one Templar and would have died, had I not thrown my dagger, making it loge in his neck. I walk over and take my dagger. Alistair stands, but stumbles a bit. I hold out my hands to catch him if he falls. But the thing is, I didn't even think of doing that. Wynne heals Alistair's head wound and drinks a lyrium potion. I know we should be careful. Wynne cannot keep healing every wound we get.

We walked down the hall, our weapons out incase and demons come out to us. I stop at a door when I hear two people talking about…dinner? Confused I entered the room and there was a demon with a Templar, his eyes blank and possessed. The desire demon turned to us and I held my weapons tighter.

"What is going on here?" I shouted.

"Did you hear something, love?" the Templar says to the demon.

"It is just the door, my love." The demon says. "I will get it. Go say good night to the children."

"Don't be late. The kids will want you to say good night." The demon walks around him and to us.

"May I ask why you are interrupting on this loving moment?" I scoff.

"This is not a loving moment. Release him now, demon!" I shout at her. Her eyes narrowed.

"Fine then, if this is how your end should be." She turned to her Templar and "gasped". "Help! There are bandits at the door! They're going to murder the children!"

"They will not get past me." The Templar said before pulling out his sword and shield. I sighed when I noticed we would have to fight the demon, the Templar, and more undead. The Templar charged at me and swung his massive blade. I ducked and slashed at his stomach with my blade. Only he was a _possessed Templar _so he was stronger. He turned his blade to hit me with the butt of it and I fell to the floor. Everything was blurry at first but I could still see his figure. As he lifted the blade I quickly kicked both of his legs and came up quickly to stab him in the chest. Alistair had just pierced his sword through the demon's middle and Sten beheaded the last of the undead. My vision was still blurry and I got dizzy. I knelt down to wait until my vision came back to me clear. The side of my head throbbed.

"Morriana?" Alistair asks as he walks to me. "Are you going to be okay?" I suck in air and try to stand, only to notice I am a bit wobbly. Alistair puts a hand on my arm and I flinch, swiping his hand away.

"I'm fine." The words slip from my mouth and he moves away. It took me a moment to regain my balance. We walked out and entered another room that held a demon. It was standing over a dead body and I heard Wynne gasp and whisper "Niall". So I presumed that was our guy. The demon turned to us, its black eyes staring and it said,

"Oh look, visitors." I pulled out my blades and the others followed. "Why do all of this?" it asked. "Why not take a break from all this excitement?"

"Because, killing you would be an excitement I'd enjoy," I reply harshly.

"Why not take a nap?" It asks and suddenly I feel tired. Really tired. Orrick fell to the ground first with a _thud _and I stumbled. Sten said something about that we must stand and fight, Alistair couldn't keep his eyes open, and Wynne told us to resist. However its magic proved too strong for us and we all ended up of the floor. The last thing I heard was the demon's voice whispering to me. _"Sleep," _it kept saying to us. And, even though I tried to refuse, my body and mind complied.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9  
~Lost in Dreams~**

**Morriana**

_My eyes opened and I realized I was in a house. But not just any house. I shot up and looked around. The familiar floors and walls and the smell were recognized by memory. I realized I was home. I tried to think how I got here. But then, I couldn't figure out what the last thing I remember was._

"_Cousin, you're awake." That voice… I could always know that voice, even if I was deaf. I jumped out of bed and embraced Shianni and she laughed. "Andraste's ass, what's wrong with you?" she said. I let her go and looked at her face. _

"_Shianni, I… what am I doing here?" I asked her. She chuckled this time. _

"_Don't you remember?" I shook my head. "You decided to be the funny one and climbed the tree in the center of the Alienage." _**Yes, that does sound like something I would do.**_ "You lost your grip and fell. You've been out for a long time. You seem to keep mumbling weird things and kept crying. I wondered if you were having a nightmare. We all did." Then I started remembering the wedding and being captured and Nelaros and…I looked up at Shianni._

"_Wait, what about Nelaros? And Soris and Valora?" Her face fell._

"_They aren't supposed to be here for another month. Maker, how hard did you hit your head? We heard you talking about Vaughn, and then you shouted my name. After that you began screaming and crying. We started thinking you had a concussion or something." Now that she mentioned it my head started hurting. It soon began hard to concentrate. I felt a bit dizzy so I quickly sat back down on the bed. "Carful, cousin. Take it easy."_

"_Did I talk about anything else?" she thought for a moment._

"_Well you mentioned a Blight and Gray Wardens. I also heard you name some. Duncan and… Alistair, I think it was." I thought on those names. But when I tried to think my head began pounded. _**Right, best not do that for a bit.**_ "Say, why don't we go sit outside with Soris? Your father won't be back until later." I nodded and we went outside. _

_The day was bright and not a cloud in the sky. I took a deep breath. Sure the Alienage always smelled like filth, but it always meant home. Soris was sitting under the tree I supposedly feel off of. He was just relaxing and then looked up at us as we came to him. _

"_Mori," he said, happily. "It's about time you woke." I laughed and sat next to him. Shianni sat next to me and it just seemed to be the three of us there. Shianni brought up a funny memory of something stupid I did when we were younger. Although, saying I can't be stupid at least two times before I even say "good morning" would be a lie._

_Soris and I broke out laughing and everything seemed normal and my headache and "weird dreams" just seemed distant. She was just about to launch into another memory when someone called out to me._

"_Morriana?" I knew that voice. But I couldn't place it. I stood and walked around the tree to see a man and suddenly I knew him. Alistair walked up to me. "Maker, I thought I'd never find you." He said, sounding relieved. My brows furrowed and I didn't know why he was looking for me. "Come on, we have to go." He grabbed my arm and was about to pull me away when Shianni and Soris got up and came to us._

"_Hey, shem, let her go!" Shianni shouted. Alistair pulled me around him and took out his shield. _

"_Stop!" I shouted, coming back around him. "Alistair, what's going on?" I asked him. _

"_Think, Morriana." He told me. "How did you get here? What's the last thing you remember?" I tried to think, but everything was fuzzy. I looked at him, still confused. _

"_I don't understand." I said. _

"_You're in the fade. That demon sent us here, along with Sten, Wynne, and even Orrick." Those names…I remembered them. Then it all rushed back to me. Everything until the demon sent us here. I turned to Soris and Shianni._

"_They aren't really… real, are they? They're not really my cousins? And my father is here either, is he?" I asked. He shook his head. _

"_What?" Soris said. "Of course we're real, Mori." I looked at the ground and noticed it was now foggy. I looked around me and the scene that was the Alienage was falling away. I knew now, if I wasn't convinced before, that this was all false. I looked back at "Soris" and "Shianni" then back at Alistair. _

"_I don't care." I told him. _**Here, there is no Blight. Here I have no troubles. It is as if none of what happened actually did occur. This was like my chance to start over.**

"_What?"_

"_Alistair, go without me. But I want to stay." _

"_Why?" he shook his head._

"_What's the point in going back? I can't redo what I messed up. I can't fix my mistakes. I can't go home. So what's the point?" he put up his shield and gently put his hands on my shoulders. Strangely, I do not flinch or feel any discomfort at all. In fact, his hands on my shoulders make me feel…safe. Secure._

"_Morriana… they are not really your cousins. Your real cousins are wherever your home is." I look at his pleading eyes. _

"_I can't go home. What's the point in fighting the blight, anyway?" He slightly smiles._

"_To end it and make sure your cousins and father are safe. Morriana, if we don't end this blight then the darkspawn will spread and attack. If they get to the Alienage, then they will kill them. I know you don't want that, right?" Just the thought of what those blasted darkspawn would do to my family makes me nauseous. I shake my head. "Then we have to get out of here."_

"_No!" Shianni and Soris scream at the same time. "She is ours! You will not take her from us!" I spin around to see them transform into other demons and I take out my blades, and take a bit of comfort in knowing I actually won't be harming my family. Alistair took the demon that had been Shianni and I took the one that had been Soris. I stabbed it through the middle and turned as Alistair bashed his demon with his shield and brought his sword down onto its chest. He looked back at me and I sighed, putting my weapons at my back._

"_Okay, Alistair, take notes: dear note-to-self, kill every demon I see." He chuckled at that and put up his sword and shield._

"_How can you have someone else be your note-to-self?" I sighed dramatically._

"_Alas, Morriana felt the sorrow that her companion brought upon her…"_

"_And I'm pretty sure you can't narrate your own story in third-person." I huffed._

"_Fine. Let's just go find abominations so I can kill them, like I said." I began to walk off but stopped when I heard Alistair's voice._

"_But you said you would kill all the demons." I turned around with my hands on my hips._

"_Thank you note-to-self." He opened his mouth to say something but then started laughing._

"_Very funny, Morriana." I smiled and joined in on his laughing. When he stopped he gave me an odd look._

"_What?" I asked, smile still on my lips._

"_You need to do that more often." He stated._

"_What? Have someone else as my note-to-self?" he chuckled and shook his head_

"_I mean laugh, smile, and joke. Maker, since we met you've been like a husk and so distant. And… sad." I looked at the faded ground and my face feel. "No, there you go again." I look up confused. "You're frowning. Don't do that, it doesn't fit you." I blushed and he smiled. He walked up to me. "I think you should smile more often. It really brightens you." I could feel my cheeks getting hotter. _

"_Are you really flirting with me while there is a demon somewhere, as are our companions?" This time, he blushed._

"_I wasn't… I didn't mean… I just thought you should smile more." I laughed._

**Alistair**

_I wasn't sure why but I liked the sound of her laugh. I hadn't meant for what I said to sound flirty, but, apparently, she noticed. But the way she smiled… it just make me smile._

"_Come on." I said before I embarrassed myself more. "We need to find the others. It will be better if we stay together." She nodded and we walked on until everything around us changed and we found Sten. His dream was being back with some of his people, but he seemed to now it was a dream. Morriana talked some sense into him and we fought the two qunari-impersonators. Sten suddenly disappeared and we next found ourselves with Wynne._

_She had thought all of the mages at the circle were dead and she felt responsible. When Morriana tried talking to her Wynne practically yelled at her and was clearly angry _at_ her. But Morriana was patient and convinced Wynne that they could still save the Circle. And then Wynne disappeared too. Orrick just had to be woken and attacked Morriana with kisses. Once again, I heard her laugh and I started smiling. When Orrick disappeared we found ourselves facing the demon._

"_Ah, I see we have escaped prisoners." It said then laughed. Wynne, Sten, and Orrick appeared behind us and Morriana brought out her weapons._

"_I prefer my freedom, demon."_

"_If you go back quietly I promise to do better and make it to your satisfactory."_

"_Killing you is all the satisfactory I need." She spat at him. It growled at her._

"_Then face your doom!" The demon began glowing and then it caused some sort of explosion that blew us all back. It formed into an ogre and charged at us. We got back up and Wynne jumped back to casts healing spells on us. I bashed my shield into its knee, but it hit me away. I immediately came back and stabbed it in the back of its knee. Morriana and Sten fought it from the front until is transformed again. It went from an ogre, then a rage demon, to an abomination, to a shade, then became its original form, shouting "face me and die!" _

_It roared at us and we began to attack it this last time. As Morriana tried to swing at it, it dodged and used its magic to push her back. She flew across the ground and skidded. Wynne came over to try to heal her, but Morriana pushed her off and got back into the fight. I blocked its blow with my shield and stabbed it in its chest. I pushed it off with my shield and Orrick lunged at it to knock it off balance, so Sten came behind it, slamming his great sword down on it. _

_Wynne came to us and suddenly the mage, Niall, appeared in front of us._

"_You defeated the demon. I never thought…I never expected you to free youself. To free both of us. When you return… take the Litany of Adralla from my…body. It will protect you from the worst of blood magic."_

"_Your body? Aren't you coming with us?" I asked. _

"_I cannot go with you. I have been here far too long. For you it will have been an afternoon nap. Your body won't have wasted away in the real world while your spirit lay in the hands of a demon." Morriana shakes her head._

"_You think you are going to die?" She ask._

"_Every minute I was here the sloth demon was feeding off me, using my life to fuel the nightmares of this realm There is so little of me left. I was never meant to save the Circle, or… survive its troubles. I am dying. It is as simple as that."_

"_No, I can heal you…" Wynne starts but he shakes his head._

"_Thank you. But it is too late for me. I do not fear what may come. They say we return to the Maker in death, and that isn't such a terrible thing. My only regret is that I could not save the Circle. But you… you can. I'm not a hero. Perhaps trying to be one was foolish." _

"_At least your death will not be in vain. You tried to save many lives, and to me that counts." I tell him. _

"_Normal people can do extraordinary things." Morriana says. Niall smiles at her._

"_Before I was taken to the Circle, my mother said I was meant for greatness, that I would be more than my assessors could have dreamed of. I hope I haven't disappointed her."_

"_You didn't Niall. I'm sure she would have been so proud of what you have tried to do." _

"_It is time for you to go now. Destroy Uldred and end this." We nodded and then everything began to fall away._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10  
~Uldred~**

**Morriana**

My eyes open and my head began to throb as I sit up. When I look to the others Sten is already standing and Orrick comes over and licks my face. I push him off and stand. Alistair stands and helps Wynne up. I wait a moment until my head stops throbbing and walk to Niall's body. The body of the demon now lies dead and I can't explain how glad I am of that. I take the papers form Niall's body and Wynne took them, saying she knew how to use them and would use them when the time came. I nodded and rubbed my arm. When the demon had tossed me in the Fade it had hurt my arm, but I refused to tell Wynne this. She had enough to worry about than me.

As we went on we were stopped by a loud snarl. A large drake came around the corner, followed by a few dragolnlings. How these mages managed to get these things in here was beyond me. Sten and I took the drake while the others attacked the dragonlings. The drake breathed fire at me and I ducked. I singed a bit of my armor but I was untouched. I drove my daggers up its throat and Sten swung his blade to its stomach. It gave a loud, painful cry and it left me dazed for a moment. It tried to claw me but I jumped back, but in doing so I tripped over a toppled chair.

When I fell the drake had pushed back Sten and decided I was now available to be its snack. So it stomped over to be, flames licking its mouth and it got ready to singe me. However, just as it was about to burn me, a shield came out in front of me, blocking the flames and backfiring some. Alistair bashed his shield into its mouth and I took my sword and dagger, jumped up, and drove them both into its chest. It shrieked and fell to its side. Alistair looked at me after we made sure it was dead.

"You alright?" he asked. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Why are we always saving each other?" he shrugged.

"I think it's starting to be a habit." He gave me a lopsided smile and we left it at that. As we went on we found only a few more abominations and about one or two demons. One of them possessed a few Templars so, once again, we had to fight them merely because they weren't in their right mind. I felt a bit guilty about it, but then decided that I would rather die than have a demon possess me.

We made it to the last room that lead to the Harrowing chamber and found another Templar in a magical cage. Curiously I went up to him. He scoffed at us as we came to him.

"This trick again? I know what you are. It won't work. I will…stay strong." He said, kneeling down.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"The boy is exhausted," Wynne commented. "And this cage… I've never seen anything like it." Wynne shook her head and looked down at the Templar. "Rest easy, Cullen, help is here."

"Enough visions!" he snapped. "If any of you is human… kill me now and stop this game." **What about an elf?**

"He's delirious; he's been tortured and probably been denied food and water." I noted.

"Filthy blood mages! Getting in my head… I will not break! I'd rather die." I knelt down in front of him.

"Calm down, Cullen," using the name Wynn used. "You're safe."

"Silence!" he shouted and shot up. "I will not listen to anything you say! Now be gone." I stood up and Cullen shut his eyes then reopened them. "Still here? But that's always worked before. I close my eyes but you are still here when I open them." His voice is strangely near panic.

"I'm real," I say. "And I'm here to help you."

"Don't blame me for being cautious." He seems to have finally calmed, so I suppose that's good. "The voices… the images… so real. Did Gregior send you? How… how did you get here?"

"We slew everything in our path." I tell him.

"Good. Kill Uldred! Kill them all for what they've done! They caged us like animals and tried to find ways to break us. I'm the only one left. They turned some into monsters and… there was nothing I could do." **Obviously. You're in a cage. Not much you **_**can **_**do.**

"Where are Irving and the other mages?" Wynne asks

"What others? What are you talking about?"

"The others who fought Uldred. Where are they?"

"They are in the Harrowing Chamber. The sounds coming out from there… oh Maker…"

"We must hurry. They are in grave danger, I'm sure of it." I nod.

"You can't save them! You don't know what they've become!" I shake my head.

"We can't just kill them all."

"They've been surrounded by-by blood mages who's wicked fingers snake through your mind and corrupt your thoughts."

"His hatred of mages is so intense." Alistair says. "The deaths of his friends must still be fresh in his mind."

"You have to end it now, before it's too late!"

"I want to save everyone who can possibly be saved." I tell him, my voice rising a bit as he will not listen to me.

"Are you really saving anyone by taking this risk? To ensure this horror is ended, to guarantee that no demons or abominations live, you must kill everyone up there!" I lift my chin and narrow my eyes.

"I'd rather spare a maleficarum than risk harming an innocent."

"Thank you. I knew you would make a rational decision." Wynne says with a smile.

"'Rational'?" Cullen repeats. "How is this rational? Do you understand the danger?" If Cullen was not angry before, he surly was now.

"I know full well of the dangers of magic, but killing innocents because they might be maleficarum is not justice. I know you are angry."

"You know nothing!" Cullen snapped. "I am thinking of the future of the Circle! Of Ferelden!"

"I do not want the blood of innocents on my hands!" This time I am the one who shouts.

"I am just willing to see the painful truth which you are content to ignore!"

"Then stop me." I tell him, calmly. "Try and stop me from saving them." His eyes narrow.

"Is that a joke? This cage keeps me from going anywhere or doing anything."

"Good. Then you can do anything. So we are going up there to kill Uldred and end this, save whoever is left and you are going to shut up about this and relax. This is going to be over, and I am not changing my mind." He opens his mouth to say something but closes it when he sees there is no use in saying anything. As I turn to head up Wynne smiles brightly at me and mouths a "thank you." I nod and we go up.

When we find Uldred he had captured some of the mages, like Cullen said, and even Irving. We gave Uldred no time of day, nor he did us. He suddenly transformed into a large creature with plates skin. His head was a few feet from the ceiling, which would make things difficult now. I sighed and we drew our weapons. I ordered Orrick to protect Wynne, so Sten and them battled the abominations Uldred had.

Alistair and I charged at Uldred. He threw a fireball at us, but we both jumped out of the way. I slid under his legs to be behind him and dug my blades into the backs of his knees. He groaned in pain and tried to kick back at me, which he succeeded at. I felt a small crack in one of my ribs and I got the wind knocked out of me. I saw as Uldred tried to grab Alistair, but he bashed his hand with his shield and stabbed his wrists. I took this chance and snuck around to drive my weapons into his arm, then pulled down. He screeched and a light suddenly appeared around him, and also around a mage.

"Wynne!" I shouted. "He's turning the mages!" she nodded and used the Litany, and the spell stopped. Since I was distracted, Uldred got a free swipe at me. I landed harshly on the ground and made the mistake of trying to use my right arm as a landing shield. I fell on my arm and pain shot through it all the way up to my shoulder. I cried out in pain and my breathing became difficult. I looked to see Alistair blocking Uldred's blows with his shield and I knew he couldn't last long alone. I called out to Sten, who came rushing over to help.

I gathered myself up and picked up my sword. No way was he taking me out this easily. Using my left hand I swung at Uldred. He reached to pick up Sten but I roughly brought my sword down onto his other arm. Uldred decided he had enough of me and this time he used both hands to grab me. I couldn't swing at him. I was lifted high into the air and brought close to his face. Panting I lifted the sword and drove in into his face as deep as I could. He screamed so loud my ears popped and I was swung down and dropped. I landed on my left side. Foot first. Now, not only was my arm broken, but my leg was to, as was a rib… or all of them.

My breathing was uneven as I struggled for air. Uldred stumbled and whatever magic he had used was fading. Then he came to his knees and slammed down. I looked around the room with eyes foggy from tears that threatened to fall. I moaned in pain and cried out. Wynne came rushing to me but I shook my head.

"Go to Irving." I told. She stood there for a moment, trying to decide what to do then ran to Irving. Sten walked off to Uldred's body and Orrick came rushing at me. He stopped just inches from me, then gently licked my face, as if he was afraid I would break. Well, the way I felt I probably would. I jumped when Alistair came next to me, which caused me to hurt. This time a tear fell and I did nothing to stop it. I didn't care who saw me cry. Maker, I'm in too much pain to care! Alistair removed his gauntlets and wiped the tear away.

"Hey, look at me," he said softly. I did and I saw his eyes filled with compassion and a bit of fear. "Everything will be okay," he whispered. He looked behind me to Wynne then back at me. "Can you walk?" I shook my head and another tear fell. "Come on, I'll help you." I groaned at the thought. "I know it's going to be tough. But Wynne and the other mages are drained." He then pulled out a healing potion and forced me to drink it. "This will have to do for now." He helped me attempt to stand, and I whimpered as I accidentally put weight on my broken leg. Alistair supported me and I saw Wynne doing the same to Irving. Sten came back with my sword and dagger and put them at his belt. I nodded my thanks, knowing if I spoke then I could start crying.

**Alistair**

Simply going down these few stairs was challenging. Wynne and the others went first because Morriana was hurt the most and would be slow. Moving slow or not at least we were moving. Morriana put most of her weight on me and I half carried her down. When we finally got to where we left Cullen he was now angry we did not kill everyone. He even started to rant about that the mages couldn't be trusted but at the notice that _some of us_ were hurt he shut up. I allowed him to help support Morriana, but I think it was hurting her ribs. On our way through the floor I found a lyrium potion and gave it to Wynne asking her to heal Morriana's ribs. She agreed, but could only fix them so much. She numbed Morriana's pain, which made me glad.

We were at the third floor when Morriana began to slow more than she was. Her breathing was still uneven, but heavier now and she was paler than before. I stopped and let her sit on the floor.

"What do we do about her now?" Cullen asked me. _**Besides the obvious?**_The others stopped when they notice we weren't following.

"Gone on," I told them. "We'll catch up." They seemed hesitant, but went on. I looked up at Cullen then back at Morriana. "She's exhausted, Cullen. She just needs a break. You can go on, I'll stay with her." He nodded and walked off. I cuffed Morriana's chin and lifted her face to look at me. I could feel her shaking violently. "Hey, we're almost there," I told her. She shook her head.

"I'm so tired." She whispered her voice cracked as she held back tears. I bit my lip.

"I know this is hard. But we have to keep moving." She shook her head again.

"I… I can't. Hurts… too weak…" More tears fell and I whipped them away and my hand stopped and rested on her cheek.

"I know you're in pain. I know you're tired and weak. And I know you want to cry because of all this." She looked away. I thought for a moment then moved to her side and slid one arm around her back and the other under her knees. Her head rested on my shoulder and she cradled her broken arm to her chest. I walked on and eventually came back to the others.

By the time we neared the first floor Morriana had fallen fast asleep in my arms. It was… comforting, to look at her sleeping face. It had softened and she looked at peace. Wynne helped me find a few surviving mages that were healers to help me with Morriana. And since she was a woman I simply put her in a room and left her there with the healers. Another mage came up to me and brought me to a room for myself. Templars had moved in to deal with any stragglers we might have missed or any that were created as we went on.

I was glad to get out of my armor. I didn't care about anything else but sleep. Well… almost anything. I sat on the bed and I began thinking of Morriana. I thought about when we were in the Fade and how she badly wanted to be back with her family. _**And then she made a joke, smiled, and laughed.**_ I smiled as I thought about that, and how bright her smile had been. I soon fell asleep with the image of her smile still on my mind.

**I always found it funny with the part with Cullen 'cause he's all berating the character about killing them all and yelled at me when I didn't want to. So then I was all "Come and stop me bro". Sad how that's not one of the options.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11  
Recovering Tower**

**Alistair**

I woke the next morning feeling sore. I sat up and stretched; the wounds and bruises refusing to make me forget the fighting from yesterday. I threw off the covers and threw on a shirt. Walking into the hall I saw only a couple of Templars cleaning the blood. They didn't seem to notice me, so I walked down the hall. I eventually found Wynne, Irving, and Gergior talking to one another. Wynne acknowledged me with a smile.

"It is good to see you are awake." I smiled.

"Yup. I thought all of that was fun. Say, you think we can have a few of these mages turn into abominations and kill them?" Wynne chuckled at my joke but Gregior's face did not change from being emotionless. "Anyway, how is everyone?"

"Tired and still shaken," Irving says, "but I believe we shall all recover."

"That's good. If you wish I can help with whatever I can."

"Thank you. But for now you may rest from yesterday."

"I should get back to organizing my Templars. They will be helping the mages in getting back in order and preparing for the Blight. There may not be many, but you will have some." Gergior adds in. He bowed his head and turned on his heel to go wherever he needed to go.

"I would like to thank you for all that you've done for the Circle. We probably would not be here, had you not come." Irving says. I can tell there's a slight blush on my cheeks but I ignore it.

"Actually, it really wasn't me. It was Morriana. She was the one who wanted to come here then save the Circle." My head then snaps toward Wynne. "Wait, how is Morriana? Is she…" Wynne give me a small smile.

"She is fine, dear. All she needs right now is some rest and a few days' worth of healing. Her arm will need some time before she can use it in a fight, as will her leg. Her ribs, we were able to fix." I give a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear."

"Now, perhaps breakfast will help a bit and then you may help as you can." I nodded and we both walked to the kitchen where a few people had cleaned up a bit. Wynne and I ate together and we talked a bit about what we had planned to do next.

"I wish to ask," she said, interrupting out nice little conversation. "Would any of you mind if I came along?" I shook my head.

"I think that'd be a great idea. I mean, you know a lot of spells and you can heal. I'll talk to Morriana about it when she wakes." I then notice her lips press into a thin line and I have this thought that it might be about Morriana. "What?" I ask.

"How much do you know about Morriana?" I scratch my head.

"Well, she's an elf, obviously, and she came from the Alienage. From what I had seen in her dream in the Fade she has two cousins and a father, though not sure about a mother. Other than that and her being a skilled fighter, along with a hidden sense of humor not a lot. Why?"

"Well…" she starts off, deciding what to say. "When I was healing her I noticed….cuts along her skin that must have been there before the fighting, given the time they have had to heal. And they are pretty recent." I am confused, though I think she must be trying to throw in that "hey there's this secret thing in there so try and find it" but I can't seem to.

"I don't remember her being hurt on the way here."

"No, that's…. that's not what I mean." She stops once again, trying to think of the right words. So this time, she just goes straight to it. "I think she might be cutting herself." I freeze in my spot. _**Why hadn't I noticed? And the way she was acting….**_ "I found cuts on her wrists and on her legs. All self-inflicted. And when I was healing her while she was unconscious it was if her body wanted to refuse the treatment. Like it didn't want to be healed. Like _she_ doesn't want to be healed. I think something happened to her before she became a Gray Warden. I was wondering if you knew." I start thinking back to the Fade and her dream. She had said that there she could have a second chance. She said she mess up and she couldn't fix her mistakes._** What had that meant?**_

"You think I should talk to her?"

"Not now. I can tell she is still hurting from whatever happened. Give her time and she will come out. She will talk when she is ready. For now," she stood up, "I will go check on her."

**Morriana **

I opened my eyes and my head slightly throbbed. Everything was coming back to me and I noticed I was now in a bed with fresh clothes on and my wounds were bandaged and healed. My leg felt stiff and uncomfortable and when I tried to move it pain shot through it. My arm was in a sling, draped across my stomach. I sat up, moving so no presser came onto my leg. I looked around the room I was in and realized it must have been an apprentice's room. I heard a bark and saw Orrick laying near the fireplace. He got up and walked to me, licking my face. I gently swung my legs over the bed and let the covers fall from me. When I stood I winced at the pain in my leg and I shook a bit from the battles and batters. I waited a moment until I was sure I could stand and not fall. I limped to the door and nearly jumped to the roof when Wynne was in front of me.

"Maker, don't do that." I said, to her and she chuckled.

"I'm sorry, dear. I was just coming to check on you. And what are you doing up?" She helped me back to the bed and did some weird magical scan on me to make sure I was okay. She numbed some of the pain and told me that she could not completely heal because of the way the bone needed to be sent. So we'd have to be stuck here for a couple of days. **Great….**

"I will go and get you something to eat. Just stay here and rest."

"Wait," I stopped her. "Is everyone else alright?"

"Well enough. It will take time to heal what had happened. But your companions seem okay. More worried about you, actually."

"Well I'm okay."

"I can see that." She turned and then handed me a cut of tea. "Drink this. It will help." I nodded and waited for her to leave the room before I started drinking it. It was sweet and by the time I finished I was ready to sleep for a week. However Wynne came back with food then left. I ate quickly then laid down on the bed, pulled the covers up, and fell into a deep sleep.

###

It was probably about a few hours later when I woke again. I sat up and my leg didn't hurt as much this time. I felt better than I did and less groggy. Orrick was now lying at the end of my bed but his head lifted when I saw I woke. I stepped out of bed and walked to the door. Well...limped, more like. I _limped _out of the room with Orrick trotting behind me and saw, through whatever windows there were that it had to be about sunset. There were few Templars in the halls as I went on. I saw some mages helping clean. I stopped by one girl, perhaps about twenty with brown-red hair. She was rubbing a wet towel on the wall to whip off the blood off the wall. I sat down next to her, awkwardly since I was trying not to put pressure on my leg and my hound laid behind me.

"Hello." She said brightly to me. I nodded my greeting. "I had heard about your battle from your friends. I couldn't believe you all did that. It was amazing." I felt my cheeks become a bit warm.

"Thanks. Although, getting hurt and nearly dying wasn't a part of the plan." She chuckled.

"I don't think it would ever be." I slightly smiled. She laughed again. I talked to her a bit about the Tower and what it was like before all this happened. She then told me that the mages were going to be helping in the war against the blight, despite there being only a few of them. I stood up a bit later and told her I should go find something to eat. She nodded and went back to work. I came into the kitchen and saw Leliana there with a plate of a few sandwiches. She smiled when she saw me.

"You are awake!" she said happily. "That's great!" I huffed a laugh. I limped over and sat down at a table next to her. She handed me one of the sandwiches she had made. Orrick sat down next to me, waiting for me to hand him some of the food.

"Yeah, but Wynne said I can't use my arm or my leg for a few days."

"Yes, but at least those few days we are here we can help with helping the mages."

"Say, where's Morrigan?"

"Oh she is staying at the inn across the lake. She said she didn't like being around all these Templars." I nodded. She was silent for a moment then spoke again. "Can I braid your hair?" she asked with a big smile. I looked at her as I ate my sandwich.

"Sure." I turned my back to her and allowed her to toy with my hair. It made me miss the times when Shianni would braid my hair. At the thought of Shianni my face fell and I suddenly didn't feel like eating anymore. I set my half eaten sandwich on the table and sighed. "Leliana, what do you do when you feel like you made a mistake and you just don't know how to fix it?" she hummed.

"That depends. What kind of mistake are you talking about?" I thought for a moment, thinking of how I could explain what I meant without giving away my secret.

"Well… I had this friend who felt like she mess things up at home."

"Can you explain?"

"…Well, her… sister was taken and when she tried to rescue her, along with her brother, they found her but… the man who took her…" I trailed off but Leliana's "oh" told me she knew what I meant. "So then she killed him. When they got out the man's guards wanted to arrest them for murder. Another friend was able to help her but was unable to do so for her brother. He ended up arrested and she felt it was all her fault. Like she didn't try hard enough to do anything."

"Oh, I see now. Well, what she could do is rescue her brother from jail and, as for her sister she could be there for her and let her know that as well. I'm sure she did all she could and that what happened was back luck."

"But…what if she can't do any of that."

"Then that is something she must figure out on her own." She finished the braid and tied it with a light green ribbon. "How long have you known this friend?" I was not expecting that question so I thought of the only answer I knew.

"A very long time." It wasn't like I could say anything else. She hummed.

"Well I hope this friend of yours finds her way." I moved around and put my arms on the table.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Me too." I finished off my sandwich and gave my crust to Orrick. "Thanks for braiding my hair. You should do that more often." He face suddenly lite up like the sun itself decided to shine on her face.

"I would love that so much." There was a pause before she spoke again. "Do you think you should be getting some more rest?" I shrugged.

"I'm not exactly all tired yet."

"Well how about a story?" I lifted an eyebrow but let her. She told me one of the old stories of Flemeth and I was very intrigued by it. I never really heard many stories of Flemeth at the Alienage but I wish I had. Leliana had been right to suggest the story because I felt tired once she finished. I yawned and she picked up the now empty plate, Orrick now finishing off the last sandwich. "Get some rest. I'll clean up." I was about to protest but then realized that there wasn't much I could do with my leg and arm. So Orrick and I were walking/limping back to my room. Once in I laid down on the bed, Orrick jumped up and rested beside me and I sighed. I stroked his fur until I finally fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12  
~Roses are Red~**

**Alistair**

I woke early in the morning the next day, so I got out of bed, washed, threw on clothes, and went off to get breakfast. There were only a few people up, Sten being one who was. He sat in the kitchen and said nothing as I entered. I called out a "good morning" and he nodded. _**Maker, that man is more quiet than Gergior not having a sense of humor. **_I grabbed some of the meat that was there and ate. When I was done I went back to the work I was doing earlier. I got one of the Templars to help me move a book shelf back into place and began putting books on it.

"Having fun?" I jumped at the voice, which cause me to drop the book I was holding. I looked to Morriana standing in the doorway. She smiled when she saw I dropped the book and I blushed, bending down to pick it up. "Need help?" she asked as she limped over to me.

"Maybe you should rest." She shook her head.

"I'm fine." _**Wow, haven't heard that before.**_

"Why do you always say that?" I asked as I picked up a book and handed it to her to put on the shelf.

"Because I am."

"But you say that, even when you're not." There was a pause. "You know… I'm here if you ever want to talk about anything." I said. She sighed as she put another book on the self.

"I'm—"

"If you say 'I'm fine' I hope you know I won't believe you." She huffed.

"Why must you keep going at this?" I straightened and looked at her.

"Because I want to help you." I stated and she laughed, almost sounding like a scoff.

"Why?"

"Because we're in this together and… I thought we were friends." She looked at me a moment. Her face was etched with confusion. She started to say something but I held up a figure to make her wait. _**It's now or never. **_I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cloth that held the rose and put it in her hand. "Here, do you know what this is?"

**Morriana**

I looked at the rose in my hand. The color was bright red and the thorns had been neatly cut off. I had seen roses only a few times and they were always darker and near dead with a few brown spots because they had begun to wither. But this… was perfect. I turned it in my hand and found no signs of being withered.

"Your new weapon of choice?" The words slipped out before I could even think of what I was saying.

"Yes, that's exactly it," Alistair replies. "Watch as I thrash at our enemies with floral arrangements! Fear my thorns, darkspawn." He said and acted as though he were fighting. "Watch as I defeat you with my rosy sent." I smiled and laughed at him. "Or, you know, it could just be a rose. I know it's pretty dull in comparison. **I don't know, it could be a pretty potential weapon. I could slap someone in the face with it! **

"So, why are you giving this to me?" I asked. He was silent for a moment. Then moved away, coming back with a chair.

"You need to sit and rest your leg," he went off subject. He walked away and came back with another for him. He sat in front of me and sighed.

"You didn't answer my question." I pointed out. I saw him bit his lip. I lowered my head to smell the rose. It smelled sweet and very flower-y.

"Well, I picked it in Lothering. I remember thinking 'How could something so beautiful exist in a world of such despair and ugliness'." He set a pause before continuing. "And in a lot of ways I think the same thing when I look at you." My head snapped up to look at him. At first I thought he was joking. He wasn't.

"You… you think…" I found it hard to speak. "It's… beautiful." I whispered, unsure of what else to say.

"I'm glad you liked it." His cheeks were now coming close to the color of the rose and I was sure mine were too. "Now, if we could just… move on to the steamy bits I appreciate that." I looked at him, lifting an eyebrow but inside my heart was pounding. **Was that what he wanted? Was the rose just something to try to get me in bed? **I began thinking of something to say.

"Taking advantage of me in my weakened state? What kind of person are you?" He started laughing and I knew there that the 'steamy bit' thing was just a bluff I called. I looked at him and bit my lip. "You know, you didn't have to do this." He looked at me, confused. "I mean… this." I waved a hand in front of my face. "I mean the rose is nice and all…"

"Wait," he stops me. "You think I did this so you would, like get along with me or to make you feel like I was just pretending to like you or make you feel…"

"Like you're trying to get me in bed." I finished for him. He nodded.

"Believe me, it's not like that. I just saw it and it reminded me of you so I wanted to give it to you. I mean, you've had none of the good experience since becoming a Grey warden. Not a word of 'thanks' or 'congratulations'. It's just been all this… death and destruction. I thought I could say something. Tell you what a rare and wonderful thing amidst all this darkness." He babbled. I chuckled at his babbling, which cause him to blush deeper. But then I thought on what he said.

"A rare and wonderful thing amidst all this darkness?" I repeated. He nodded. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you. For the rose. And for helping me." he warmly smiled at me. He handed me the cloth he had use to hold the rose and I wrapped it up. I stood up and winced at my leg.

"Dose it still hurt?" he asked, also standing.

"Yes, but I'm okay. Wynne said it'll hurt for a bit." He nodded. "Let's just go back to cleaning the tower and putting up these books." He nodded and we continued the book placing on the shelf.

**Short chap, I know. I just thought the rose part should have its own chapter! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13  
~Scares~**

**Alistair**

We left the Tower after about six days. Morriana's arm and leg were healed, but Wynne had said to take it easy. Morriana and I didn't really discuss what happened between us, but I didn't know whether that was good or bad. Morriana agreed to let Wynne come, since we couldn't just have Morrigan healing everyone and even Morrigan was grateful. For once.

We were currently walking down the road and I had told Morriana that we'd be there in about a day or two. She nodded at me with a small smile. I couldn't help but think back to what Wynne told me about her. I just couldn't believe it. But when I started watching more closely I saw that she winced when a gust of cold wind hit her arm or her leg. Not only that but, she constantly wore long sleeved shirts under her armor.

We made camp near Lake Calenhad, since we were following the coast of it to Redcliff, and set up camp. I was enormously grateful we now had tents but I dreaded the thought of bedrolls. The beds at the Tower were comfortable and I started missing them when the doors to the Tower closed behind us. Wynne lite the fire for us with her magic and I was relieved I didn't have to do it. Morrigan went off to her own camp and we set up our tents.

"I think we should try and have fish for dinner, tonight." Leliana chimed up as she finished her tent and helped Morriana with hers. I laughed.

"How? We don't have a net or a fishing pole." I stated. I finished mine fairly quickly and help with Wynne's. Leliana bit her lip, as if to decide what we could do.

"I can do it." Morriana offered. Leliana and Morriana finished with the tent the same time I finished mine. Sten's was up even before ours were, however.

"And how do you plan to do that?" I asked. Morriana looked up at me and proudly smiled.

"I have a bit of magic of my own." I scoffed, playfully.

"Really?" She knelt down and picked up a bucket we were able to get from the tower.

"Follow." She commanded and I did. It took us only a minute to reach the lake. I watched as she took off her boots and socks then rolled up her sleeves. She picked the bucket back up and told me to stay. She walked gently and slowly into the water so that it barely rippled. She settled in a spot and turned to face me. She retched in the water and picked up the rock, placing it in the bucket to make it stay in place. Then she lowered both of her hands in the water and waited.

She remained still and I wondered in some mage had decided to come up and freeze her. However, I nearly jumped in a tree when she moved. Her hands snapped at something in the water and when she lifted then there was a fish in her hands. She held it up and waited as it squirmed in her hands to be back in the water. When it stopped she threw it in the bucket and looked up at me, a smirk on her face. I smiled, impressed.

"How did you learn to do that?" I called out to her. She lowered her hands back in the water to repeat what she did.

"Helped at the Alienage. I was able to leave a few times to do this. Really helped with speed." She caught another fish and I was surprised at how fast she moved. She was about on her fourth fish when she looked up at me. "Want to try?" she asked. I shrugged but took off my boots and socks like she had done and walked slowly in the water to where she was. She showed me what to do and when to snatch at the fish. I failed the first time… and the second. She laughed and showed me one last time, this time catching a fish.

"See?" she said holding the fish in one hand. Her wrist was exposed to me and I saw the scars there clearly. I gently traced one and she quickly pulled away, dropping the fish.

**Morriana**

My heart began pounding. He had seen the cuts; the things I had tried desperately to hide from everyone.

"How did you get those?" he asked. I quickly lowered my sleeves and picked up the bucket now full of fish and begin walking off.

"I doesn't matter."

"Did you get them because of what happened before you became a Warden?" I instantly stop, pondering what he asked.

"It's none of your business." I snap at him. I walk out of the water and shoved my boots back on, not even caring to put back on my socks. I just picked them up and put them in my pocket. I walked back without waiting for Alistair and set the bucket of fish down next to her. She was obviously impressed and so was everyone else. Alistair came back a minute after me, and I ignored him.

I wasn't angry at him. I was just… okay, I didn't exactly know how to feel. I was sure I overreacted when he saw them but I was more… ashamed and angry than anything else. Alistair and I avoided eye contact as we cooked the fish. Orrick settled behind me, sensing my distress. We ate in silence and Morrigan decided to join us as we ate.

We finished and Leliana and Sten decided to clean. Morrigan went back to her camp and Wynne announced she would be going to sleep. I stood and told everyone the watch schedule. Fist Leliana, then Alistair, Sten after him, then me. They nodded and I ducked in my tent with Orrick at my heels and he laid next to me. I removed my armor and laid down on my bedroll pulling the covers over me. After a few minutes I finally fell asleep.

###

I woke in cold sweat from the nightmare. I saw the archdemon in my dream, and the darkspawn ripping through the Alienage. I could still see the dead faces of the people there I knew, including Soris, Shianni, and father. The archdemon spoke to me, saying all that I was working for to save would fail and he would kill everyone I cared about. I shook my head. Orrick was still asleep, so I climbed out of my tent for air. I saw Sten outside, sitting by the fire. I walked to him and sat next to him.

"I don't believe it is time for your watch." He says to me. I sigh, my heart finally resuming its steady pace.

"I know. I just had a nightmare about the archdemon so I decided to get some air." He nodded. "Sten?" I asked after a silence. "What were you doing in that cage?"

"Sitting, as you observed." I huffed.

"Very funny."

"Thank you." I looked at him, my eyes playfully narrowing.

"So, are you going to tell me?"

"I did." He looked at me with his violet eyes. I shook my head and decided to drop it.

"So, what do you think of Ferelden?" I asked, trying to keep a conversation.

"I find it… strange. No one has a place here. If a farmer buys a shop he is not a merchant. He is only a farmer-turned-merchant." **Well… aren't they the same thing? **"And then you have these things that we did not have at home. Like crumbly pieces of bread, only sweeter." I thought about it.

"You mean cookies?"

"'Cookies.'" He repeated. "We do not have this word where I'm from. And then Ferelden smells like dogs." I chuckled.

"You forgot trash." He sighed, but I think it could have been a slight laugh.

"I was trying to forget that part." I chuckled.

"You and that other warden," he says. "Did you two fight?" **He must have seen us ignoring each other.**

"It's complicated."

"How so?"

"I…" I sigh. "It's nothing. Perhaps something we should talk about, but not now." He nods and does not push further. "Sten, I think I'll take my shift now." He nods and stands, heading back to his tent. I look at the dancing flames as the first sighs of morning shin between the trees.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14  
~Redcliff~**

**Morriana**

I walked next to Leliana as she told me of the fancy things they had in Orlais. I had no idea that a fighter like her would have been so obsessed with shoes. I jumped as I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned to see Alistair behind me, a nervous look on his face.

"Can we talk?" he asked. Leliana stopped so she could fall back to Wynne.

"Look, Alistair," I started. "I don't want to talk about what happened and…"

"No, I mean, if you don't want to talk about it I understand. But I have to talk to you about something." His voice suddenly became a bit lower, as if to keep what we were talking about quiet.

"Okay, what?" he bit his lip.

"Well, remember when I told you my mother worked in Redcliff castle and Arl Eamon took me in?" I nodded. "Well the reason he did that was because…king Maric was my father." I instantly stop and look at him, my eyes wide and the feeling of being slapped does not go unnoticed.

"King Maric? What?" He hushes me and grabs my arm, pulling me forward.

"Please just try to listen. I was kept away because I would've been a threat to Cailan's rule. And anyone who knew treated me differently. Even Duncan kept me out of the fighting because of it. I just… didn't want to tell you because…"

"Because you thought I'd treat you differently." He nodded. "But, doesn't that make you heir to the throne?"

"Maker's breath, no. If there's an heir it'd be Eamon. I have no place on the throne." I thought for a moment, taking in what he said. He seemed really tense so I shrugged.

"So you're not just a bastard, you're a royal bastard." I said. He laughed and let me go.

"Yeah, I guess so. I have to use that more often." I laughed along with him. After a moment I looked down at the road. **Why I laughing? Why am I happy? I have no reason to be happy. I don't deserve it. **My face fell as we walked along. I fell behind past Leliana and Wynne and followed next to Sten. At least I could appreciate his silence while we walked.

###

Redcliff finally came into view and I felt so relieved. I lead the group to the bridge that would have lead into the village when there was a man standing there.

"Thank the maker. Have you come to help us?" he asks the moment he notices us.

"Help you? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"You mean…? Has no one out there heard?"

"We heard the arl was ill, if that's what you mean." Alistair says, coming to my side.

"He could be dead for all we know! Redcliff has been under attack and we need help."

"T'would seem as though everyone agrees that it is the best time to start killing each other." Morrigan says, shaking her head. **I second that.**

"Okay, just tell us what's going on." Alistair said to me.

"We've been attacked by these-these creatures every night. Not many people are left." The man answered.

"Who's in charge here?" I asked.

"Bann Tegan." He answered.

"Bann Tegan? He's here?" Alistair asked.

"Yes, I'll take you to him." The man turned and began to walk. We followed him into the village. Barricades lay around for protection and people worked and trained, all with fearful expressions. The man led us into the Chantry where there were more people. He led us to a man at the very end, so I assumed he was this _Tegan _person.

"Bann Tegan, I have brought someone here that might be able to help us." Bann Tegan looked to the man with a smile.

"It's Thomas, yes?" The man, Thomas, nodded. "Thank you. You may return to your post." Thomas bowed and turned on his heel to leave. "Greetings," Tegan said. "I am Bann Tegan, Bann of Rainsfere and brother to the Arl." Alistair came up and stood in front of Tegan with a smile.

"I remember you, Tegan. Though the last time we met I was younger and covered in mud." Tegan give him a confused look.

"Covered in mud?" Suddenly his face lights up. "Alistair? By the Maker! You're alive!" **And he was covered in mud because…?**

"Still alive, yes. No thanks to Loghain."

"Yes I had heard his lies he would have us all believe that the Gray wardens killed the king. But I do not believe it."

"It's good that some of us survived." I stated.

"'Some of us'? you are a Gray Warden also?" I nodded. "That's wonderful."

"But for now, tell us what's been going on." Alistair stepped in.

"The attacks started a few nights ago. Evil… things come from the castle at night. I fear tonight's attack will be the worst. Alistair, I hate to ask this, but can you please help us?"

"Of course, Bann Tegan. We'll do all we can to help these people."

"Agreed." I said. Tegan gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. You can try to speak to Murdock and ser Perth to see what you can do." Both Alistair and I nodded. We walked out of the chantry and into the midmorning sunlight. Alistair sighed as if all this was overwhelming. Well, for him it probably was. I looked at him.

"I can talk to ser Perth if you talk to Murdock." I suggested. He nodded. I ordered Leliana and Sten to be with him so Morrigan, Wynne and Orrick went with me.

"Good day, my lady." Ser Perth said as I came to him. I was taken aback by this. No one has ever called me 'my lady'. **Well, there was that one time when Soris and I were playing around… and then that other time…** I pushed that memory away since it wasn't exactly… focused on what we were doing. "I am sorry, but I do not wish to offend you in any way. What do you wish me to call you?" I thought for moment. 'My lady' wouldn't be too bad, but maybe awkward. I mean, how often is it you see an elf being call that.

"Warden will do just fine." I replied. He bowed his head.

"Very well, Warden."

"What's our status?" I asked, sounding all professional-like.

"The knights are ready at your disposal, Warden. However, there is something I would like to ask."

"Name it." I said.

"Well, the knights would like some holy protection for tonight. Do you think you could ask the revered mother for some of her holy amulets?" I shrugged.

"I'll try." I turned and began walking back down the hill. Morrigan scoffed behind me.

"Pitty they choose to ask the protection from a false God." I chuckled.

"Hey, at least we're just getting amulets. Be glad we're not asked the Maker or Andrastae themselves to come down and help out." She laughed at my comment.

"I don't see how either would help." Wynne huffed at us.

"Enough you two." I lowered my head, trying to hide my small smile. But when I glance up at Morrigan I see that she, too, has a smile on her face.

"Moral, or that's what I think it's called. If we give them the amulets they'll think it'll help and they'll fight better and harder. I don't know how, but it works." I explain. She scoffed again as we entered the chantry.

**Alistair**

The three of us walked up to Murdock just as one of the militia men was walking away from talking to him.

"So you're the Gray Warden, are you?" Mayor Murdock asked when we came to him.

"Well, one of them." I replied with a shrug.

"Well, we aren't going to turn aside anyone wants to help, though. Don't take me for being an ingrate or nothing." I smiled.

"Well we do want to help however we can. You can trust us." He nodded.

"Names Murdock, mayor of what's left of the village—provided we aren't killed and hauled off to the castle tonight." I clapped his shoulder.

"Have faith, good man. We will defeat this evil together."

"I…I hope you're right. I've been trying to hold us together, but it isn't easy." **And when is it ever? **"Anyhow, you're here and they tell me you're in charge."

"Um actually, no." I felt a slight blush on my cheeks. "That's actually Morriana. She's the leader here."

"I see. The elven maiden?" I nodded. "To be honest I didn't think they made women Gray Wardens. Or elves." I sighed.

"I don't really think the darkspawn care who they're killed by." Murdock shrugged.

"True. These men are fighting for their homes, but they're frightened. It would help if we had decent equipment. There weren't enough swords in Owen's shop, and the men's armor is nearly falling off. I don't think we're in any shape to fight. But we'll do our best, of course, but… I still have my doubts. I just hope I'm alive tomorrow morning.

"What can I do to help?"

"Try talking to Owen, the village blacksmith, to try and make more swords and armor." I nodded and my group and I headed off to the blacksmith. When I tried to open the door it was locked.

"Go away!" a voice from the inside shouted. "Curse you. You've taken everything already. Can't you leave me alone?" I sighed.

"Owen." I called to him. "I haven't taken anything, but I want to talk to you."

"Eh? You ain't Murdock." **Obviously**. "Who are you?"

"I believe it would be helpful if we didn't talk through the door," Leliana says. Owen hums.

"Alright, alright. But make it quick." The door unlocks and I mouth a "thank you" to Leliana. As we walk in the smell of alcohol is so strong I try not to breath.

"Maker's breath," Leliana swears. "It smells like someone set a brewery on fire." She covers her nose to block out the smell. I chuckle.

"Somebody's been drinking." I sang. Leliana and Sten glared at me so I shut up.

"So I let you in. What do you want?" I look at Owen, his grey-oily hair falling in his face and drunkenness written in his eyes and in movements.

"Well, we came to help the village. But why have you closed the blacksmith?" A painful and depressed look covers his face.

"My girl, Valena, she's one of the arlessa's maids. She's trapped in the castle and I can't save her. It'd do me the world to know she's alive." I thought for a moment, and then smiled.

"I can rescue her."

"Murdock said he's do his best, but that's not good enough. I want a promise."

"Then I promise we will try to find her. You have my word."

"Is this a promise we will not keep?" Sten says from behind me.

"No, I intend to keep it." I tell him. He sighs.

"Thank you. I suppose then I should be getting back to work." Owen stumbles over and grabs him hammer to start working.

"Uh, you're working? Drunk?" he shrugs.

"Got any better idea's." I open my mouth, but close it when I realize he's right. I shake my head and we walk out. **That worked out nicely. **Once we are outside I see Morriana walking out of the chantry. I called out to her and she looks at me, but then quickly tells Wynne and Morrigan to do something. She then walks over to me with Orrick in tow.

"How'd it go?"

"Well, we got the blacksmith to start working again. Other than that, I promised to help him find his daughter, Valena, if he started working."

"His daughter?" Morriana lifts an eyebrow and I nod.

"Yes, she was in the castle and I think, if she's still there, we could try to find her." Morriana nodded.

"We'll see what we can do. Anyway, Leliana," she turned to Leliana. "When the others get back I want you, Morrigan and Sten to find people to help out." She nodded and went off to collect Morrigan, Sten following behind her. "Listen," she said to me, "you, Wynne, Orrick, and I are going to be helping the militia." I nodded. We waited until Wynne came back and so the four of us went around, helping the militia, Orrick later walked off and Morriana followed him, later coming back to tell me that she found oil in the general store. I went up and told ser Perth about it and he had men get the barrels.

Morrigan, Leliana and Sten managed to get a few people to help us. A dwarf named Dwyn, an elf, who we found out, was here to spy on Redcliff for Arl Howe and Loghain, named Berwick, and Lloyd, owner of the Redcliff inn. The men seemed more confident in fighting and winning, now that most had better weapons and armor, thanks to Owen.

The sun was beginning to set on the village and everyone found their places. I would be staying below with the militia, Lloyd, and Dwyn, along with Morrigan, Leliana, and Wynn. Sten, and Orrick would be up on the hill with Morriana, along with the knights and Berwick. I stood near the fire and the last signs of daylight were now fading. Suddenly I heard a gasp from the crowd and saw a green fog emerging from the castle.

"Get to your positions!" Murdock shouted. The men scattered around to their place. I took a deep breath and pulled out my sword and shield.

**Let it begin.**

**YAY! Now we come to Redcliff! I always loved fighting the zombies, although they freaked me out the first time I played. THEY WANTED TO EAT MY BRAINS! Anyway, FOR REDCLIFF! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15  
For Redcliff**

**Morriana**

I watched as the fog came closer to me and the group I was with. I pulled out my sword and my mother's dagger, Sten followed. Orrick stood at my side, growling at the fog, waiting for whatever was to come.

"Here they come!" Ser Perth yells behind me. I saw figures emerging from the fog and the undead came charging at us.

"Now, Berwick." I called. Berwick launched a fire arrow onto the oil. It blazed up just as the undead were on it and I almost smiled as I heard their screams. The three of us, along with the soldiers, ran around the fire to attack the walking corpses. They growled at us as we came to them. I dodged as one tried to hit me, but a sword across its neck sent it to the ground. Sten hacked at any who came his way and Orrick tackled one to the ground. The soldiers seemed to be doing well in the fight, using their shields as defense. Berwick stayed behind and fired from a distance.

I stabbed one that came to attack me, then spun around to slice open another that came behind me. It felt like forever until the fighting stopped. I looked at all of the once-again-dead carcasses and saw that none were the soldiers or my companions. I smiled at our victory. Though it didn't last long. I lost it when I saw a militia man running up to us.

"The monsters are attacking the village!" he shouted at me. **Yes, as if I cannot hear you. **"We need help."

"Knights, hold your position." I ordered and followed the militia man. The corpses were attacking when we got there. The rest of my companions were fighting so we joined in. Leliana stood at a distance and shot arrows at the undead, never missing a target. Morrigan froze any that came too close to her or the soldiers. Wynne healed any wounds from us or the men. Orrick tore apart any he could reach and Sten swung his great sword, cutting apart these horrid creatures. I danced around the monsters, attacking most from behind. One fell at my feet, and before I could react, another ended up too close and caught my arm. I jumped back, but my adrenalin rush caused me to ignore the pain of it. I threw my dagger at it, causing it to lodge in its head. I quickly retrieved it and went back to fighting.

The last walking corps finally met the ground as the sun began above the lake. After that no more came. Everyone began cheering. I quickly looked to all of my companions and saw none had been hurt, and all of the militia had lived. I started laughing and Orrick tackled me in joy. He licked my face then jumped off, barking happily. I shook my head then looked around.

**Not half bad.**

###

**Alistair**

We set all the corpses into a pile away from the village so the people would not have to be around them much longer. We had been working all day, cleaning the village, repairing what needed to be, and helping the people. I was glad to see the attitude in all the people brighten. I looked at Sten as he tossed down a corpse that had been over his shoulder onto the pile.

"That appears to be the last." He says to me. I nod and whip sweat from my head.

"It's about time. I was getting worried there'd be more." He doesn't reply. Sten walks off muttering that we should be getting back to the other Warden, meaning Morriana. I sigh and follow him to the village. Everyone has gathered around the center, and I mean everyone who's left, for Tegan's speech. I walk over to stand next to Morriana. She nods in acknowledgement to me and we remain silent as Tegan begins**. **

"Dawn arrives, and we survive the night! We are victorious!" Tegan calls happily over the cheering villagers. Morriana stands next to him, along with me and our companions, save Morrigan. She turned into a bird and flew off before this started so she wouldn't be around all these people. I swear I will never understand her. "Although it came at a great loss, we must remember that were it not for these Gray Wardens." Tegan turns to Morriana, a huge smile on his face. "I thank you, my lady. The maker surely smiled on us when he sent you here in our darkest hour." Morriana bows her head to him.

"There is still much to do, Bann Tegan." She replies.

"Surely these people deserve some celebration, don't you think? There is time yet." I chuckle and Tegan flashes his smile at me before turning as Mother Hannah begins a prayer for those who died. I stay silent. "With the Makers favor," Tegan continues, "the blow we delivered today has given me enough chance to enter the castle and seek out our Arl. Be wary, and watch for signs of a renew attack. We shall return with news as soon as we are able." Tegan then turns to Morriana and I. "Now with time to waste, follow me to the mill. I wish to speak to you." We both nodded and Morriana, our companions, and I followed him.

Once we are at the top Tegan looks off to the castle with a sigh.

"Odd how quiet the castle looks from here. You'd think there wouldn't be anyone in there." He shakes his head then turns to us. "But I shouldn't delay any longer. I had a plan to enter the castle once the village was secure. There is a secret passageway in the mill, accessible only to my family.

"What?" Morriana says. "Why didn't we know about this earlier?"

"I knew you would chose the passageway and I needed help with the village. I'm sorry if I—Maker's breath!" I turn to see Lady Isolde, Eamon's Orlesian _wife._ I sigh and my shoulders slump. She runs to Tegan, a guard in tow.

"Tegan! Oh thank the Maker you yet live!" She said.

"Isolde! You're alive! How did you…? What has happened?"

"I do not have much time to explain! I slipped away from the castle as soon as I saw the battle was over, and I must return quickly. And I…need you to return with me, Tegan. Alone."

"I think we need more of an explanation." Morriana interrupts.

"What? I…who is this _elf, _Tegan." Morriana's eyes narrow as Isolde turn to her, giving her a dirty look. I take a step forward before much else can happen.

"You remember me, Lady Isolde, don't you?" Isolde then gives me her look.

"Alistair? Of all the… Why are _you _here?"

"They are Gray Wardens, Isolde. I owe them my life." Tegan explains.

"Pardon me I… I would exchange pleasantries, but… considering the circumstances…" I can see out of the corner of my eye that Morriana has a confused look on her face, but I'm not sure what from.

"Please, Lady Isolde, we had no idea anyone was even alive within the castle. We must have some answers." Isolde sighs and turns to Tegan.

"I know you need more of an explanation, but I… don't know what is safe to tell. Tegan, there is a terrible evil within the castle. The dead waken and hunt the living." **Yeah. We noticed. **"The mage responsible was caught, but it still continues. And I think… Connor is going mad. We have survived but he won't flee the castle. He has seen so much death!" **Why do I get the feeling she isn't telling us everything? **I look at Morriana and she seems to think the same. I look back and listen to Isolde. "You must help him, Tegan. You are his uncle. You could reason with him. I do not know what else to do."

"Then let's decided quickly on what to do." Morriana says, turning to Tegan. Tegan nods.

"The king is dead and we need my brother now more than ever. I will return to the castle with you, Isolde." Isolde lets out a breath of relief.

"Oh, thank the Maker. Bless you Tegan! Bless you."

"It seems we have little choice." I mumble.

"I have no illusions of dealing with this evil alone. You, on the other hand, have proven quiet formidable." There was a small pause, then Tegan looks to Isolde. "Isolde, would you excuse us for a moment? We must confer in private before I return with you." She nods.

"Please do not take too long. I will be by the bridge." Once she was out of sight Tegan walked in front of us.

"Here's what I propose: I do into the castle with Isolde and you enter the castle using the secret passage. My signet ring unlocks the door." Tegan pulls a ring off his fingers and hands it to Morriana. "Perhaps I can distract whatever evil is inside and increase your chances of getting in unnoticed. What do you say?"

"Tegan, you'll get yourself killed!" I shout at him.

"It is a risk I am willing to take. Isolde, Connor and I are expendable. Eamon is the priority here." I shake my head.

"No, we'll save all of you."

"Agreed." Morriana says. Tegan looks at Alistair with a smile.

"You have grown into a good man, Alistair. Thank you both. The Maker indeed smiled on me when he sent you here."

"So we're just going to send him with that woman? It's too dangerous." Leliana says from behind.

"It's his choice." Morriana says back.

"But I can delay no longer. Allow me to bid you farewell… and good luck." With that Tegan then walks up the hill to the bridge. I only pray to the Maker he will still be alive when we find him. Morrigan found us just as we left so Morriana then sent Leliana, Orrick and Morrigan to Ser Perth, who was waiting at the gate to the castle Sten, Wynne and I came with Morriana.

**Yeah, I meant to upload yesterday but I'm in Color guard for my high school and so I had band camp… worst four days in my life! I wanted to die… but anyway I got through long enough to upload my next chap! **

**BTW, a little late on that review, hu, HikariYagami22? You're usually reviewing the same day the chap comes up, what happened? JK, JK, I loe the fishing part too, tho. And CommanderHawke667, I did that once and when I saw what happen to Redcliff I actually laughed at both with how Tegan was the only one that lived out of EVERYONE and was at first mad at me then was all cool with me. ;) **

**Thank you to all who read and review and….stuff! PURE AWSOMENESS!  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16  
~Have Fun Storming the Castle! ~**

**Morriana**

The light in the tunnel was dark as we went through; the only light was from a torch we found and lit. I counted myself lucky that we didn't find any dead or undead in the tunnel. When we reached the end and found the opening to the dungeon, Alistair pushed it open and was the first up. After a quick check that there were no undead, he helped us up. It was quiet as we stated on but then we hear the unearthly growls of those creatures in the next room, followed but a man calling for help. Sten kicked the door down and Wynne instantly shot an arcane bolt at one, followed by one of my daggers and Alistair's shield into the last, and Sten's sword being brought down on it.

I looked and then saw a man in a cell. He had mage robes on that were covered in blood, and more obvious that they were long since cleaned. His black hair fell on his face and his eyes were dark from fear and lack of sleep.

"H-Hello? Who's out there?" I walked up to him and relief flowed over his face. "Wait, you don't look like the arlessa's guards… who are you?"

"I would like to ask you the same." I stated, the others coming behind me.

"My name is Jowan. The Arlessa hired me to tutor her son, Connor." I was silent for a moment then spoke.

"And just what are you doing here?"

"I… I poisoned arl Eamon…" he admitted.

"What?!" Alistair yelled, causing Jowan to flinch.

"Lady Isolde needed to hire an apostate to tutor her son in mage, once he started to show signs."

"Connor? A mage?" Alistair said, anger turning to shock. "I don't believe it," he shook his head.

"I'm also a… a bloodmage. Loghain hired me to poison arl Eamon. He told me Eamon was a threat to Ferelden."

"Are you the one responsible for what's going on here?" I asked.

"You mean the undead?" I nod. "No. I don't even know how to do that. It's possible that Connor might have done this, if he met a demon in the Fade."

"So, the boy is possessed?" Jowan nodded. I huffed. **Well, if there's a Maker, he hates me. (**Line from fantastic four. "If there's a god, he hates me."**) **

"Please let me out." Jowan begged.

"Why? You poisoned the arl and ran Redcliff into chaos!" Alistair yelled, turning back to anger.

"I know what I did was wrong. But please, I want to make it right." I thought for a moment**. If I let him out, Maker only knows where he'll go. If I don't, I suppose we could get him later. I mean, if he did know a way out of that cell wouldn't he have gone out long before?**

"I want you to stay, Jowan. We'll be back for you later." He nodded and stepped back.

"Then I will wait for your return." **Well… at least he's not throwing a bitch-fit about not being let out.** We walked on a bit further, running into more undead, which just totally took me by surprise, but eventually found our way out of the dungeon and onto, what Alistair claimed, as the first floor.

We tried to remain quiet on the floor, but the undead in the hall saw us, which in turn brought out undead to follow it. **Well, it seems being all "sneaky-sneaky" isn't going to work. **

The castle just seemed to be filled with them. The hounds in the kennel even attacked us with blank eyes, kennel master dead on the ground for what may have been days. Traps lay around that would have most likely killed us had I not found them. I found the girl Alistair had told me of before, Valena, and sent her home, after calming her down of course.

Finally we eventually made our way out of the castle through the dungeon and into the court yard. I walked cautiously through, but then I was suddenly pulled all the way across, and came to the feet of a Reverent. I jumped out of its way as it tried to stab me and before I could get my weapons out it bashed me with its sword. The others focused on the undead, but this Reverent seemed much too focused on me.

I quickly pulled out my weapons and blocked its next blow. I got a swing at it, causing it to bleed black blood. It growled angrily at me and used its unnatural powers to pull me closer and throw me back so that I hit the wall of the castle. I fell to my knees, trying to get rid of my daze. When I look up I saw its blurry figure before me. It lifted its sword and was about to strike but a sword suddenly went through it. Finally my vision cleared just enough for me to make out the figure of Ser Perth.

"Warden, are you alright?" I nodded and picked myself up. He picked up my weapons and handed them to me. I looked over and saw the rest of my companions, along with his men. "Shall we go into the castle together, then?"

"No. We don't know what's in there. Stay here. We will get you when we can." He nodded and he called his men to stay and I called my companions, and we made our way into the castle.

**Short chap, I know. But, hey I wanted to save all the good stuff for the next chap!**

**I do agree that I don't like Isolde. And When I played…everyone died on that first night and I had to replay it like 20X before I just gave up and played, not even caring if they died. I never liked it when Perth comes in the Court yard with the Reverent cause then he kills it and I'm like "BRO! That was **_**MY **_**kill!" }=( **

**And let me guess, when it came to where the person saved Mori, you probably thought it was Alistair. I'm SSSOOOO evil! **

**20 POINTS TO WHOEVER CAN GUESS WHERE I GOT THE TITLE FROM!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17  
~Blood Ritual~**

**Alistair**

The moment we all stepped in we heard a demonic laugh and clapping. Moving into the room we found the boy, Connor and Isolde standing next to him. Tegan danced and rolled on the floor, acting as a jester. Connor looked up at us, his deep black eyes staring. With some unheard demand Tegan stopped and walked over to him, sitting at his side. I noticed some of the guards in the room with the same blank look that Tegan had. The boy was controlling all of them, it seemed.

"So these are our visitors, mother?" "Connor" said his voice deep and unearthly._** Dear Maker!**_

"Y-yes Connor." Isolde sputtered, shaking madly.

"And these are the ones who destroyed my soldiers? The ones I sent to reclaim my village?"

"Yes." Connors eyes looked over at Morriana, who looked one-third scared, one-third shocked, and one-third emotionless.

"And not it's staring at me. What is it mother? I can't see it well." Isolde looked up at Morriana.

"This is an elf. You've seen them before. We… we've had them here at the castle." Suddenly Connor lets out an evil laugh.

"Yes! Now I remember! I had their ears chopped off and fed them to the dogs!" he said with a wicked smile. "Shall I send it to the kennels, mother?" A sudden ager flowed in my but stopped when Isolde dropped down to her knees and grabbed his arms.

"Connor, I beg you! Don't hurt anyone. Please!" Connor doubled over, his hands on his head then looked up and suddenly his eyes were a color of blue-green and not black and demonic.

"M-mother?" He said, his voice now a normal kids' voice. I breathed a sigh of relief. This didn't seem as bad as we thought.

"Oh thank the Maker! Connor? Connor can you hear me?" Connor covered his face with his hands then shouted at her.

"Get away from me fool woman! You are beginning to bore me!" His eyes and voice turned again and Isolde shot up like she got burned. Connor turned back to us. "So tell us, _elf_, why have you come here?" Morriana stayed quiet for a moment, then looked at me. I shrugged and she turned back to him.

"I came to stop you." She claimed. Connor shifted angrily.

"But I'm not done having fun yet! Ever since mother sent the men away its been boring. I crave excitement!" The guards suddenly came to life and Tegan stood up drawing his sword. _**Maker's breath, why must this be so difficult? **_Connor seemed to change back again and when he noticed fighting was about to engage he fled, running right past us. We quickly got out our weapons and started fighting. I found Tegan in the fight and he got a nice hit on my arm. I bashed him with my shield enough to knock him out but not enough to hurt him.

Once all of the guards were dead Isolde run from where she had been hiding over to Tegan. He groaned as his eyes opened no longer showing signs of possession. Isolde gave a happy cry and helped him up.

"Oh, Tegan," she said once he was on his feet. "Thank the Maker you yet live. I would not have forgiven myself had you died." Tegan shook his head, trying to regain himself.

"I am… better now." He looked at Morriana and me. "We must decide what to do and fast."

"The mage." Isolde instantly said. "We must bring him here, should he still live. This is his fault. Let him fix it."

"Isolde this is more your fault than anybody else's." Morriana told her. Isolde looked as if she had just been slapped. _**Oh, Morriana don't do this! You don't want to do this!**_

"What?! How dare you suggest—"

"You're the one who wouldn't give his to the Circle where none of this would have happened and they would have taught him to control himself. You're the one that hired and _apostate mage_ who is also a blood mage and an assassin." Morriana accused, folding her arms. My eyes widened. _**Maker, this girl is no doubt stronger than people give her credit for. No one has ever stood up to Isolde.**_ Once again, she looked like she got slapped and the guilt and fear flooded onto her face.

"You're right!" She cried. "I… what kind of mother am I?! I put my son's life in danger and everyone else's! Everyone is dying because I was selfish." I looked at Sten and Leliana and told them to get Jowan for us. They nodded and headed off, drawing their weapons in case of anymore surprise attacks. I looked back at Isolde. _**As much as I always hated her, I know she does care for her son and that deep, deep, deep, deep…way deep down that she was nice and caring… very, very deep down.**_

"No, not selfish." Morriana said. I knew Morriana thought she was a bitch, but yet she looked like she felt pity for her. "You just wanted what was best for your child. Every mother does." I saw a glint of guilt and pain in Morriana's eyes but it vanished as quickly as it showed. Isolde looked at her.

"Yes. I do want what's best for him."

"Isolde." We turned to see Leliana, Sten and Jowan. Jowan stepped forward, remorse written on every inch of his face. "I know what I did was wrong, and I cannot take it back. But I truly did not release this demon." He then explained to her that Connor might have done so by accident and explained that it was Loghain who sent him to poison Eamon. Tegan looked at Jowan when he finished.

"Is there any way to destroy the demon?" he asked, putting a hand on Isolde's shoulder.

"Well, the quickest way would be to kill the child." When he said that Isolde let out a wail and hugged herself. Tegan quickly tried to comfort her.

"No," Morriana stated. "We are to going to kill the child. There has to be another way." Jowan thought for a moment.

"We could find a way to enter the Fade and destroy the demon from there. But that would have to include a lot of mages and lyrium, all which we don't have."

"But the Circle does." I suggested. "We can go back, they still owe us." I looked to Morriana for her opinion.

"Can you do anything _now_, Jowan?" _**What?! Help from the **_**bloodmage**_**?!**_ He seemed hesitant for a moment before speaking.

"I have blood magic. I can do the ritual but that would include blood. A lot of it. All of it in fact."

"So… someone has to die?" Tegan said. Jowan nodded.

"Then let it be my blood." Isolde announced.

"What?! Isolde, are you sure?" Isolde looked at him, no longer afraid or guilty.

"He is my son. It is either he dies or I give my life so he may live. To me, that answer is very clear."

"Wait," Morriana stepped forward. "Jowan is there any way to do this ritual and not have someone die?" she asked. I lifted an eyebrow at this.

"Well, it's possible I could use two people and do something like a half and half." He looked to Tegan and Isolde, smiling. "I think if we could do that then no one would die. You both would be best for this. Connor carries blood from you both." They nodded and Jowan sent us to find candles and some power. He drew some sort of symbol on the floor with the power and placed down the candles. He pulled a knife and dripped blood on certain places then told Isolde and Tegan to stand in the center.

"Who will go into the Fade?" Jowan asked Morriana. I watched her as she thought then spoke.

"Morrigan." Morrigan came from behind her and went to her place with a roll of her eyes and a huff. I walked over to near Jowan, ignoring Morriana's confused look and placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and leaned down to Jowan and whispered,

"If you try anything stupid I will kill you." He looked at my, fear in his eyes, and nodded then looked back to Tegan and Isolde.

"I warn you, this will hurt… a lot. But you and Connor will still be alive afterward. Through this Morgan will enter the Fade and—"

"Morrigan!" Morrigan shouted at him, obvious that she doesn't like people getting her name wrong. I tried so hard not to smile.

"Right…Morrigan will enter the Fade and destroy the demon there. But doing this Connor will not be harmed and may not even remember a thing." Relief flooded Isolde's face once again, and Jowan started.

Words came from his lips as he slit his wrist and held his palm out to them. I couldn't understand the words, but every sense of my ex-Templar side wanted to kill him then and there. But I knew I couldn't. Suddenly a bright red light started glowing around Tegan and Isolde and then they screamed in pain. Blood shot out from their skin, nearly making me sick. Morrigan then tumbled to the ground, unconscious. After a minute or so Tegan and Isolde followed. The glow vanished and everything was quiet. Jowan dropped to his knees, panting.

So we waited. I didn't know if it was safe to enter the symbol and I didn't ask. I just waited. Finally, after what seemed like hours but could have only been minutes Morrigan shot up, breathing heavily. She shook her head and got her breathing normal, muttering that she had killed the demon. Leliana cheered with joy and jumped up and down, seeming like an over excited child. Well, I would have done the same, had I not been so concentrated on everything. I let out a breath I had no idea I was holding and smile. We all were, save Sten. I looked to Jowan, who was also smiling.

"May we move them?" I asked. He nodded.

"Sten, move Tegan to a room. Alistair, same with Isolde." Morriana said. "Morrigan, go find somewhere to rest, Leliana and Wynne, help me clean. And Jowan…" He looked up; ready for whatever she wanted him to do. "You go rest too. You deserve it." He nodded and stood, wobbly at first then left. I walked over with Sten and picked up Isolde. I carried her to one of the guest rooms, since we still had no idea what else could possibly be here. There was still blood all over her, but any wounds from where I came from weren't there, so I didn't worry about it. I left the room, after a check nothing else was in there and went into the hall. Without even knowing it a huge smile just broke on my face and I walked back to the main hall to help clean.

**Okay, two things:**

**I know Isolde is like a total b### but, hey, wishful thinking, you know? So I wanted a story so that she's not all like that 24/7. Not for her, but so other's don't have to put up with it.**

**I know it could have been where she dies, Connor dies, or the Circle helps. So I wanted a change! At first when I thought of this it was supposed to be Morriana and Isolde. But then I thought it over and she's already been through a lot of crap and stuff. So, yeah.**

**Oh and 20pts to xMsAnaviax for guessing the question! At other random times I will try to add more for other people. Hope this means you get to be another follower, xMsAnaviax. ;) **

**Thanks to the reviews!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18  
~Who you are~**

**Morriana**

We spent a week and a half at Redcliff cleaning homes, the castle, burning whatever bodies were left and getting people's lives in order as much as we could. Tegan and Isolde were out for a few days so their blood could replenish, but once they were on their feet it was as if nothing was wrong with them. The bloodstains were now gone, broken items were taken away and all the staff that had survived the blow helped. Most were elves, but I didn't know them. Isolde had told me most had come here form Highever, a long ways away.

I walked up the stairs to the arl's room, where Isolde and Tegan were with Alistair and Orrick in tow. Once I got there I saw Tegan turn to me and Isolde stand from where she was sitting on the bed where the ill stricken arl laid. Connor was on the floor looking through one of him picture books and ignored us.

"I still cannot believe it's over." Tegan said to me. Now, he didn't look so pale, as did Isolde. Both were in new cloths and looked better—much better—than before. "Connor seems to be his old self and doesn't remember a thing, which is a blessing."

"But my husband is still sick," Isolde's accent voiced through the room.

"Yes, that is true. We still need my brother, but I haven't any idea how to cure him." I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn't know what. But, apparently I didn't have to.

"The urn," Isolde announced. "The Urn of Sacred Ashes will cure him!"

"But, isn't that only a myth?" I asked, looking to Alistair.

"It's our only chance." Alistair replied.

"You must seek out brother Genitivie. From last I heard her had come close to the ashes rest place. Perhaps he has already found it." Tegan explained.

"Then we will find him." Alistair said, immediately. "And the ashes."

"Agreed." I nodded. "We will head out tomorrow. I will let the others know." I turned on my heel and walked out, finding everyone else, Orrick following close behind. Wynne and Leliana were chatting in the library, and told me they would start packing tonight. It took me a while but I eventually found Sten in the practice yard and he said to me, as he swung his sword like it weighed nothing, that he had been packed for some time and had been waiting to leave. Have to say, there is no fore-play with this guy.

Morrigan, however, was nowhere in the castle. From what Leliana told me, after I asked when I couldn't find her, she was out looking for herbs. So I walked outside to the village to see if she could be there. As I passed the Redcliff in I heard someone talking and looked to see a cart with new mules, along with…dwarves? I walked over to them.

"Well, if it isn't our savior in Lothering!" the first said. **What was his name? Oh yeah, Bodahn. **

"Yeah, Bodahn and Sandal. How are you guys?" I said with a smile. Sandal came to Bodahn's side with a shy smile.

"Enchantment?" he said. I shook my head and he nodded, turning away to take care of the mules.

"We are doing fine, my lady, just stopped by here to restock."

"Of course," I nodded, looking at the crates they had yet to load.

"Now, I know you've all but save us once, but I would like to ask you a question."

"Sure. Anything."

"Well, the road's been mighty dangerous these days. But then I thought, 'what could be more safe than traveling with a Grey Warden'? So, I would like to ask if my boy and I could come along." I thought for a moment.

"Well, that would depend. Would we be able to use your cart when we need to and will you be able to stay out of danger when it strikes?"

"Certainly yes, and yes."

"Very well. Welcome aboard." He grabbed my hand and shook it so hard my entire body moved.

"Of thank you so much, you won't regret it." he let go and went straight to packing when I told him we would be leaving tomorrow. With a goodbye I started away. Not wanting to go back to the castle just yet. So I headed down to the docks.

The water was beautiful. It was glittered against the light of the sun and it was clear. I could see the fish swimming about and the ships to the distance. It was so calming and peaceful here. It was on rare occasions that I was able to get out of the Alienage, and even Denerim, but whenever I did the water was the first place I wanted to be. Sure I couldn't swim well…or at all, but I loved to feel and sight of it. The ponds and small lakes wherever we made camp were not compared to the sight of a beautiful place like this. I bent down and picked up a rock, skipping it four times in the water before it sank down. I smiled and skipped another.

**Alistair**

I walked out of the castle and to the village. The _witch_ returned and Morriana had been out for an hour and a half without a word of coming back. I figured maybe I could find her. I don't know why, but I felt some kind of…overprotectiveness over her since I first met her. Or maybe I happened after I found out about her scares. Either way, I followed the blood pull to the docks, where I saw her skipping rocks.

"Hey," I said as I walked to her. She simply nodded in greeting but then went back to skipping rocks. "Listen," I said after a moment of silence. "I want to talk about what happened here." She stopped and looked at me.

"Why? I think it worked out alright, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but, still I want to talk."

"Okay, we're talking, aren't we?" I blew breath, ignoring her jest.

"I just wanted to thank you. For doing what you did to save the arl's family. Even when you thought you couldn't you still tried." She turns to me with a smile.

"I wasn't just going to simply let everyone die, Alistair. Even when it would have been easiest. That would be unfair." I nod and bite my lip.

"I also wanted to thank you for not treating me differently when I told you I was Maric's son." She lifts an eyebrow and folds her arms.

"Yes that was something I wanted to talk about.

"Oh…" she unfolds her arms and takes a step forward.

"come here." She demands and leads me closer to the water and makes me kneel down. "Look in the water." I do and see the sand beneath the waving water. But if I looked closely I could see my reflection. "What do you see?"

"Sand? Water?" I reply. She shakes her head.

"What do you see?" She asks again.

"My reflection?" I look at her and she gives me a plain look and then looks back down at the water.

"What do you see in that reflection?" _**Is this a joke? I can obviously see myself. **_"Try this: What do you see when see yourself?"

"I see an ex-templar turned Grey Warden. I see a warrior…"

"What else?" _**Might as well be honest.**_

"…a bastard prince that nobody really wants." I admit quietly. When she doesn't reply I look at her and see her smiling.

"But that's not true." She states. My brows knit together in confusion.

"Alistair, you have always gone with what people have said, haven't you?" I nod, hesitantly to what is going on here. "The way you think you can't lead, the second guessing and you think you're unwanted. But, truly, you're not any of that."

"What do you mean?" she moves to sit on her heels.

"Alistair, you're a funny, and kind person. You can lead, but you just don't think you can, but I've seen it." She looks off to the castle with an almost dreaming look. "'*Every man is born of many men, but dies as only one.*' My father taught me that." She looks back at me, more serious this time. "Perhaps it's time you figured out who you are.

"Right now you are separated by two people. On one side is who you really are, the other is who people tell you who you are and you simply follow it. Right now you are more on the side of people telling you who you are instead of what you want to be. So you need to decide to either cross the bridge, or remain where you stand." I took in what she said. No one had ever really given me a chance to let me decide what I want to be. Everything was always decided for me, from the minute I was born. It was as if I had no control over it. But right now, Morriana was giving me that chance. I looked back in the water; back at my reflection.

At the corner of my eye I saw Morriana stand and being to walk away, maybe giving me time to figure it out. I stood quickly; so fast she jumped. _**No more. **_I turned to her, and she looked at me, confused. I walked over to her and stood in front of her. I took a step closer, so that we were nearly touching. I looked in her eyes and she looked in mine. They gleamed in the sunlight, which in turn just brightened her face. I slowly reached out a hand and placed it on her cheek. I felt it slightly stiffen, but she made no move to protest.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly. I smiled and leaned closer.

"Crossing the ditch." I don't remember the last time I was so daring—if there ever was a time—but I came closer and my lips touched hers. A wave of sparks just flew through me and my heart skipped a beat. I heard her softly gasp, but she did not move. I kissed her lips, though hers did not move. She was slightly tense, and I could feel it. _**Did I make a mistake? Had I gone too far? **_I began to move away, but stopped when I felt her lips kiss mine.

I leaned down again and our lips met. She kissed me back and made a small moan. Her arms came around my neck and moved one arm around her waist. I felt so entranced. Still feeling a bit daring, I slowly push my tongue in her mouth, which she eagerly greets with hers. I didn't know how long we were there, and, frankly, I didn't care, but we both parted for breath. Our foreheads touched as we panted, arms still around each other. Maker she was so beautiful! She's just amazing! What did I ever do to deserve her?!

She pulled away to look at me. She moved her arms and placed her hands on both of my cheeks, her lips breaking into a huge smile.

"I thought you said you hadn't been with a girl before." She said, still breathing heavily. I chuckled as I remembered when we had helped the Circle Leliana decided to want to know me and asked me if there was ever a girl. When I had said "no" I think I saw her give a small glance toward Morriana and a smile. And now that I think back I swear I hear her say under her breath "yet". She was a rouge, after all, so she must have noticed this coming.

"I haven't."

"Why don't I believe you?" Her voice seemed to have gotten slightly deeper, more flirtatious. I smiled.

"I guess I'm just that awesome." She giggled and kissed me again. Maker, her lips were so soft, despite being a bit chapped, and she tasted so sweet.

"Perhaps we should be getting inside, before everyone starts looking for us." I wanted to refuse. I would have just stayed here for the rest of the day and night. But, the others finding us like this would mean a lot of teasing. Especially from Morrigan.

"I see your point." I dropped my arms and she pecked my lips.

"Good, then I don't have to repeat myself." I chuckled and took her hand, leading her back to the castle, wondering how I managed to be so bold and why I hadn't done this sooner.

**Yes, yes I know. FINALLY they decide to do this. But, of course, more is still to come (GIVES EVIL LAUGH) **

**Thanks to the cool reviews so far!**

**10 points to guess where the ** is from and who said it. ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19  
~Mark of the assassin~**

**Morriana**

We headed out early the next morning, after a quick breakfast, small gather of more supplies, and an explanation to Bodahn tagging along. He allowed Wynne and Leliana to ride in the cart, much to their pleasure. They slipped in, getting comfortable around the crates. Morrigan couldn't resist a hit at Alistair, which in turn lead them to bicker and to annoy the other at all costs. I stayed back with Sten. I was able to get him to talk a bit every now and then and listened as he told me of the Qun and how our chantry despises of it. Orrick trots at my feet, also interested in mine and Sten's conversation.

Alistair and I didn't seem to talk about what happed last night, but I knew that we both enjoyed it. In fact I loved it. But when he was close to me at first… all I saw was _his _face. But when Alistair spoke and his lips touched mine the memory just seemed to fade away, as I it was never there. I melted into him and didn't want to reform again. At first, when I started feeling a small attraction to Alistair I was terrified. But now I feel safe with him; like deep down I know he wants to protect me. I saw his reaction when he saw my scars. He was scared and confused and worried.

I smiled as I thought about our kiss. Oh they were so soft and tasted like honey and apples. I didn't want to do anything else but kiss him until my lips hurt and just keep on. But it was the first time I've ever kissed someone outside of my family. I looked up at the sky, suddenly surprised to find it near noon. **Maybe if we took a break—**

"Please, help me!" someone shouts, breaking me of my thoughts. I jog up to the front where Bodahn has stopped with Alistair and Morrigan. I see a woman in front of us, clothing torn and her skin dirty and her hair ragged. "They attacked the caravan! Please, you have to help!" Orrick begins to growl and I look to everyone.

"Morrigan, stay here with Bodahn and protect him and his son, in case any come here. Leliana, use that bow." They nod and Leliana takes out her bow I bought her from Owen. A gift given to me when I found Valena. "Come on." I jogged after her, the others close behind. We came to where her wagon had been turned over and the cow dead. She slowed to a walk and went up to an elf in armor. He was smirking at us, and it chilled my blood. The tattoos on his face were clearly visible, even from where we stood. He suddenly gave a signal and people appeared behind the wagon, on the cliff and right near us.

"The Grey Warden's die here!" He shouted, bringing out his blades. Our weapons quickly came out and we attacked. Alistair figured out the girl who lead us was a mage and smited her, then killed her. Leliana's shot at the archers was spot-on and Wynne froze three that threatened too close. Orrick's teeth tore open those he attacked, leaving them screaming in pain. Sten's blade swept through the rest like nothing and he displayed no emotion The elf had his sights on me and I decided to give him what he wanted. A good fight. Our weapons clashed together in attempt to hit the other.

He faked me out, finally at one point, and caught my shoulder. Through the adrenaline flowing through me, however, I didn't even notice the pain. Getting frustrated, I swiped my foot under him, causing him to fall. I stepped on his wrist so he wouldn't get his blade and help my sword to his throat. The others came up behind me.

"Talk." I demanded.

"Oh, you're rather an aggressive little minx, aren't you. Lovely too." He said with a heavy accent, a smirk growing on his face. I pressed the sword on his neck. "Alright, I see its questions you are planning to ask me, let me save you a little time and get to the point. My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan Crows, brought here for the sole purpose of slaying any surviving Grey wardens. Which I have failed at, sadly."

"Yes, it's so sad that you didn't kill me. I was looking forward to dying." I said sarcastically.

"Oh, not only are you beautiful, but a jester too." He replied with a chuckle. My cheeks feel slightly warm but I ignore it. "I like those." I hear Alistair's agitated sigh behind me and decided if I keep delaying then this guy might die before we get a chance to hear everything.

"What are the Antivan Crows?" I ask.

"I can tell you that." Leliana chimes behind me. "They are an order of assassins. Very powerful, and renowned for getting the job done." **Yep, they totally get the job done. I mean, just look at me! **"Someone went to great expense to hire this man."

"Loghain." Alistair mumbled under his breath. Even though we cant really know it for sure, I fell like he is right.

"So you came all this way from Antiva?" I asked.

"Not precisely. I was in the neighborhood when the offer came. The Crows get around, you see."

"So who _did _hire you?"

"A rather taciturn fellow in the capital. And, yes," he looked over at Alistair, it was Loghain." Alistair growled behind me. "But I have no idea what his issues are with you two. The usual, I imagine. You threaten his power, yes?"

"So are you loyal to him?"

"No I am not loyal to him. I was contacted out of service."

"And why are you just telling us this?" Alistair asks, stepping up.

"And why not? I wasn't paid for silence. Come to this of it I wasn't really pain at all." Zevran chuckled.

"Aren't you are loyal to your employers?" Leliana asked.

"Loyalty is and interesting concept. Now, if you're done interrogating me, we can discuss it further." My brows knitted together as to what he meant. "Here's the thing: I failed to kill you, so my life is forfeit. That's how it works. If you don't kill me, the Crows will. So let me serve you instead." I scoffed.

"Can I expect the same loyalty out of you?" I asked.

"I happen to be a very loyal person. So yes, you can expect me to be loyal."

"And what's to stop you from killing us later?"

"Nothing, really. But, since I failed to kill you the first time, the Crows would still kill me." I sighed.

"I don't know."

"And why not? I can do many things. Shine armor, fend off unwanted suitors, pick locks" His voice then got deeper and more flirtatious. "Warm your bed, give excellent massages." I stayed quiet a moment. **He can fight, and will remain loyal, I suppose. I guess he could be useful. **I moved the sword from his throat and sheathed it, also stepping off his wrist.

"Very well, Zevran. You can come with us."

"What?!" Alistair exclaimed. "You're taking the assassin with us now?!"I turned to him.

"He can be useful. We might need him." Alistair looks at me, his arms crossed and is obviously displeased. He then looks down at the assassin, who flashes him a smile.

"Alright I suppose I see your point. Although is there was a sign we were desperate he could have just knocked on the door and said 'hello'." I chuckled before turning back to Zevran and helped him up.

"I hereby pledge my oath of loyalty to you, until such a time as you choose to release me from it. I am your man, without reservation…this I swear." He pleaded with a bow.

"Um…" I looked at him confused. "Sure. Thanks." I turned back around to the others. "Alistair and Sten, go and make sure Bodahn, Sandal, and Morrigan are alright and find a way for them to get around this tree. Leliana, there are no doubt more traps around here. Disable them. Wynne…" I stopped once I noticed that she looked ill. "Just sit for a moment, alright." She nodded and sat on one of the rocks. "Zevran, help me go through these people's pockets."

"Of course, _bello._" He said in his flirtatious voice. I sighed and shook my head, and began to rummage through the pockets.

**Alistair**

Night fell faster than we expected. Picking a fine place to camp we all started falling into our camp placement ritual. Bodahn and his son set up their camp a bit away from us, and Morrigan even further. Through Bodahn's discount for Morriana she got another tent, a bedroll, and a blanket for the assassin. I, for one, didn't trust him at all. At first sign he would do something I'd kill him without hesitation. I wouldn't mind doing that now, but I suppose Morriana was right when she said we'd need him.

I just finished making my tent when I glance at Morriana sitting on the ground next to her soon-to-be –put-up tent. I walk over. She sits on her heels, her hands in her lap.

"You okay?" I ask. She looks up at me.

"Yeah, just… a headache." Her voice sound shallower than before and there is a darker look in her eyes. I kneel down beside her, taking off my gauntlet, and press my hand on her head. The moment my hand is on her head I can feel it burning.

"Maker's breath, I think you have a fever." I say in surprise. **She seemed fine before. **"Wait, were you hurt in the ambush?" She stays quiet for a moment then looks down at her shoulder. I do too and see the cut on her shoulder. "Wynne!" I call out. She comes rushing over and drops to her knees. She ran a scan over Morriana and shook her head.

"Alistair, the blade was poisoned." She told me. I stood and stomped over to where the assassin was sitting.

"Morriana's been poisoned by _your _blade." Him hummed his response.

"Yes, I figured as much when I got a hit at her." He said, unconcerned. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Fix her, or you will die in the most worst way you could ever think so." Zevran chuckled.

"No need, my friend. There was only enough poison on the blade so sicken and weaken my opponent so they would not be much of a challenge when I tortured them. She should be fine in a day or so. Two at most and then she'll be on her feet like it never happened." I don't believe him one bit. But… I know for a full fact that if she died then I would have Morrigan bring him back to life—if she could do that, anyway—and then let the others kill him. I dropped him, deciding I was done talking to him. He landed gracefully and straitened his armor. I walked back to where Wynn was.

"Alistair, please move her into your tent so that I may heal her." I nodded and lifted her like she was nothing. She moaned in my arms and leaned her head on my shoulder. Had this been any other time I would have blushed. But I pushed it aside and set her down on my already made bedroll. Wynne came in after, with Morrigan not far and I left the tent, leaving them to heal her as much as they could.

**YAY! Our ridiculously awesome elf-assassin has arrived! And partially poisoned Mori… but he has arrived! **

**And sorry, xMsAnaviax, but no, that is not the answer. ;) The question is still open, though.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20  
~Promises~**

**Morriana**

The gates of Denerim came into view as we were nearly a mile out of the city. We started out in the early brink of the morning to save time and to quicken our speed. The arl's life did count on it, anyway although we got there as the sun was setting. The assassin had been right and I felt much better, as if nothing had happened. Zevran wasn't too bad, and I enjoyed his stories he shared about being an assassin, and even some lovers of the night, or daytime, or somewhere around noon I'd think. We had encountered darkspawn just the other day and he fought them very well. I don't know if he has before, but he seemed well enough to fight them. Well, anyone who can fight darkspawn without running away screaming like a two year old who saw a bug and can fight is good enough for me.

I walked up in front, Leliana at my side as she talked about some shopping she'd like to do while here. Shopping Shianni would leap at the chance to do. Me, not so much. The way Leliana talks about shoes you'd think them to be some kind of hidden old god or something in some small footwear. But I listened, nonetheless. Fancy shoes were a luxury I, nor anyone at home, could afford. I had two pairs: regular shoes I went out in, and boots to train or mess around. And the hair! Never had I heard of such things do to hair. It sounds pretty enough, but insane!

I assume Leliana thought I enjoyed talking about all of this with her, due to the smile I had on my face, but that wasn't the cause. We were near Denerim. Denerim! Where my Alienage was! I was finally going home, after so long. It feels like forever since I've been there and couldn't wait to see Shianni and father's smiling face. And, plus, I could finally help Soris.

_Flashback:_

_I felt so relieved when my foot sent onto the dirty ground of the Alienage. I had an arm wrapped around Shianni, whom I knew was about to break as soon as we were home. I probably would too, but I had to keep it together._

"_You have returned!" Valendrien said as we came out. Duncan stood next to him and my father on the other side. "Have any of you been hurt?" I look at Shianni and she shakes her head._

"_No," I lie. "We're fine." He looked at us, then fear struck his face. "Where is Tormey's daughter, Nola?" Valora chocked a sob._

"_Nola didn't make it," Soris explained._

"_She refused and—and they killed her!" Valora finished. _

"_Nelaros too." Soris added. "The guards killed him."_

"_And we killed them." I said._

"_I…see. Would the rest of you ladies please take Shianni home? She needs rest." The other girls nodded and I let go of Shianni. I knew she wanted to protest but she knew the look I had so well she simply nodded and let the others pull her along to home. "Now tell me," Valendrien said, once they were gone, "what happened?" I looked at him, but didn't speak, so Soris did instead._

"_Vaughn's…dead." He put a hand on my shoulder and I nodded. _**Well, it seems their family just got a bit shorter…**

"_Then the garrison could already be on their way." Duncan said. "You have little time." _**Let them come. **_I wanted to say this out loud, but I just couldn't speak._

"_We may have to leave Denerim for a while." An elf with cherry red hair suddenly rushed up to us._

"_The guards are here!" he shouted. Some of the other elves suddenly began to whisper and panic, most even walked away, pretending to have no part in this._

"_Don't panic," Valendrien told him. "Let's see what comes of this." It wasn't but a few moments later that the clatter of steel came behind us. I sucked in air and turned to see five guards approaching._

"_I seek Valendrien, elder and administer of the Alienage!" The first one shouted, obviously the commander here."_

"_Here, Captain. I take it you have come in response to today's disruption?"_

"_Don't play ignorant with me, elder. You will not prevent justice from being done. The arl's son lies dead in a river of blood that runs through the entire palace! I need names, and I need them now!"_ _I put my head down and stayed quiet._

"_I'm afraid I can't help you Captain. You know the tales they tell about the arl's son. I'm sure you can guess what happened." Despite what was happening I couldn't help but admire how calm Valendrien was. I suppose that's why he's our elder._

"_I know that no matter what happened it has gone too far! You're silence will put the entire Alienage at risk." He then turned to Duncan. "You there, Grey Warden, tell me what you know of this _murder's _foul deeds." He demanded._

"_I have nothing to say, Captain," Duncan responded, putting his arms behind him with a quick glance at me. _

"_Then I'll ask one more time. If anyone knows who murdered the arl's son speak now and save yourself a lot more trouble." I didn't want any harm to come to anyone. I may not have known everyone in the Alienage completely but I still loved them all. I could not let this man hurt anyone. Just as I was contemplating stepping forward and admitting the doing was all mine another elf decided for me._

"_It was Soris and Morriana. Them," she said, pointing to us. My head snapped toward her so quickly my neck cracked. The Captain looked at her, then me and Soris and mockingly chuckled. _

"_I suppose I am expected to believe that _two _elves did all of _that_?!"_

"_We are not all that helpless," Valendrien commented. He was silent for a moment then turned to us. _

"_Very well. I am placing you both under arrest for the murder of Vaughn Loren, the arl of Denerim's son. You both will wait in the dungeons until the arl decides what to do with you."_

"_Captain, a word if you please." Duncan said, stepping forward and stopping the guards from arresting us. I looked at him curiously, then turned to Soris, who shrugged._

"_What is it Grey Warden? This situation is well under control, as you can see."_

"_Be that as it may, I hereby invoke the Right of Conscription on this young elf, Morriana Tabris. I remove this prisoner into my custody." _**Wait? Just me! What about Soris?!**

"_Son of a…" The Captain sighed. "Very well Grey Warden. As for the other, you are still under arrest."_

"_Wait," I stopped him. "Grey Warden Duncan, can't you conscript Soris too?"_

"_I am sorry, but I cannot." One of the guards forcefully pulled Soris and deprived him of his weapons. _

"_Grey Warden, the only thing I ask is that you be ride of this murderer today."_

"_Agreed."_

"_No!" I shouted as they dragged Soris away. My Duncan wrapped his arms around me and held me back as I tried desperately to claw my way to Soris. As the gates closed behind them, I suddenly went still. My cousin, one of the only friends I ever had, save for Shianni, was now gone. Gone to the depths of a heartless dungeon full of torture and pain. _

_And I couldn't save him._

_Duncan let me go and I fell to my knees, chocking out a sob. I failed. I failed so badly. I let everyone down. It's all my fault. _

"_My little girl." My father said and he knelt beside me. He put a hand one my shoulder and I swiped it away._

"_No." I whispered. I stood up and whipped my eyes. "If I am to leave… then so be it. I will just… go say good bye, then." I walked away without another word, and they said nothing. I walked slowly home, savoring my last moments of being home._

_When I arrived at our house I opened the door. Valora and another one of the bridesmaids were sitting by the fire. When they saw me they both stood up._

"_Morriana." Valora said walking to me. "Shianni's in the next room." I nodded and looked away._

"_Soris… won't be coming home." I told her. She gasped. _

"_What!" I shut my eyes, ignoring the hurt sensation I just sent upon her. I recounted what happened and she folded her arms, sorrow written on her face. "I… I see." I looked back at her and saw the other bridesmaids left. I put my hands on her shoulders. _

"_I will get him back, Valora. When I leave, I leave with this promise. I will return, and I will bring him back, even if I die doing it." She sadly smiled at me and hugged me. _

"_Go talk to Shianni." She said once she broke the embrace. "She needs you." I nodded and waited as she left the house to give us privacy. I walked over to the beds and saw her sitting on mine, her gaze stuck to the floor and her arms crossed over herself. I opened my mouth to say something but she stopped me._

"_I heard everything." She said, her voice cracked with tears threatening to fall._

"_I'm sorry," was all I said. She looked up at me, her eyes glistening from soon to fall tears. I sat down next to her and hugged her. She returned it with a sigh._

"_I know what happened." I let go and looked at her. "Don't give me that look, cousin. I know they…" I don't either of us could have finished that, nor would we have wanted to. I looked away than back at her, more tears falling._

"_No one must know. You can't tell anyone." I told her. She nodded. Shianni was always the one I could tell something to and it wouldn't go all over the Alienage. Soris too, but mainly her. _

"_I'll miss you cousin." We hugged again, this time with our arms tightening each other so much I though one of us would snap in half. I don't know if she wanted to mention it, but this was no doubt my fault. If I was faster, stronger, or even smarter I would have saved all of us. I would have made sure none of us got captured; I would have made sure Nelaros and Nola were alive; I would have made sure both Shianni and I had not lost our innocents; I would have made sure I wouldn't have to leave and follow out with what my father wanted._

_We both jumped apart as we hear the door open. Whipping our tears we stood up as my father entered the room. _

"_I still can't believe this," he said with a sad sigh. Shianni got up and walked over to the fire to give us privacy. _

"_Nor can I." I let our breath and shook my head. "So much has happened in one day…"_

"_I know." He put his hands in my shoulder, and I put my hands on his. "This isn't really the future I had planned out for you." He gave a halfhearted chuckle. "But now all I can give is my love for you and my hope that the Maker will be with you." I forced a half smile._

"_Thank you father. I hold them both dearly to me." He returned my smile and then hugged me, tightly. When we let go I realized we were both crying._

"_I think it must be time for you to go." I was so reluctant to go. I thought about procrastinating, but I knew I couldn't. So I nodded and walked to the door. I stopped when my hand was at the handle and turned._

"_What… what do you think mother would have thought of me now?" He looked at my with a smile, as if I had answered the question to life itself, whatever that may be. _

"_She would have been so proud of you, no matter what. I know I am." His words struck me life a knife through the stomach. I said nothing as I reached for my pack I kept on the table, even though it was empty. _**Proud? How could anybody be proud of what I've done? More so, what I didn't do?! **_I then opened the door without another word and stepped outside, shutting it behind me. I looked around. The Alienage no longer held its life like color. Anyone who was not from here would not be able to see it, but I've lived here all my life. There were no people outside anymore, save for about five people. Two being Duncan and Valendrien as they talk and the others were taking down the decorations and putting the wedding feastings away for later. I walked to Duncan, a cold feeling filling my entire body._

"_Are you ready to leave?" Duncan asked me. I nodded, not trusting my voice. "Then we should head out immediately. Duncan walked toward the exit and I followed, looking back at my beloved home one more time before I headed into a new future in which only the Maker would know what will happen._

_Flashback:_

I took a deep breath as I thought on that. An embarrassing yelp erupted from me as I noticed Zevran at my side.

"Maker, Zevran." I shouted. I breathed deep, trying to calm myself and steady my racing heart.

"My apologize, Warden. But I suggest we camp outside Denerim and head in when the sun rises. There are many people who would like to get their hands on such equipment that we have. Not to mention, there is a rather large bounty for anyone who finds a Warden." I nodded and we headed off the road, making sure Bodahn was able to get the cart through, and we began to make camp. I took the first shift, like always now, and so after a quickly made dinner, everyone went to sleep, save for Orrick and me as we sat by the fire.

###

It was some time later when I noticed my shift was over and now it was Sten's. I woke him up and said I was going to the nearby pond for a moment. His silent nod was all I got and I left, hiding my knife in my sleeve of my long-sleeve shirt for more scares to join my arm.

**Yeah, so a continuation of Morriana's origin, mainly. **

**YAY! We have finally reached Denerim! Who knows what will lie ahead?! (Gives wired, but slightly cool, stare) **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21  
~Family~**

**Alistair**

It wasn't the sun that woke me that morning. No, it was the city. And the sun was just starting to show! I, for one, did not want to wake. So, I laid there for a moment and thought, since I didn't have to get ready just yet. We were now in Denerim. I hadn't been here in so long. Well, I'm not technically 'here' in Denerim. We're still outside the city. _**I wonder how much it's changed.**_

I turned my thoughts to something specific. Something I had to tell Morriana. I had found information while I was with Duncan that I had a sister, Goldana. I want to see her, warn her about the Blight. But most importantly I want to know, have that feeling that there's finally someone I can consider family. I smiled at the thought. _**I wonder what she'll be like. I wonder what she looks like. Would she look like me? Or perhaps more of her father rather than mine.**_

As I daydreamed the sun finally rose some more and I decided to get my things ready. I threw on my clothes and cleaned my armor the best I could and got it on, buckling it in place. I crawled out of my tent and saw Morrigan talking with Morrigan with Orrick lying at her side, and Morrigan's face was red…like she had been laughing… _**I thought she wasn't happy unless she was turning people into toads and then setting them on fire.**_

I stood and they looked at me, finally noticing I was up.

"Am I missing something?" I asked. Morriana smiled at me, something I would give anything to see again.

"No," she replied. Morrigan looked away as she tried to calm herself and let the flush leave her. She suddenly stood, saying she needed to pack her things. Morriana let out a small giggle. _**That's new. **_

"We head out to the city in an hour. Are you packed?" Morriana asks while standing and brushing the dirt and leaves from her pants. I nodded. She let out a shiver and hugged her arms. "Blast, why must it be cold?" I laughed.

"Because winter's coming," came my smart reply.

"I never would have guessed. While we're here we should get warmer clothes." I could tell she was excited, also something knew. She was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Listen, Morriana, when we get into the city there's someone I'd like to look up." I said to her as she began to destroy the fire.

"Loghain will get what's coming to him, Alistair," she replied without looking at me. I shifted uncomfortably.

"No, I know that. But that's not it. The thing is, I have a sister." Once I said that she stopped and looked at me.

"And you want to see her?" I nod.

"I haven't known about her long, I just discovered when I was recruited. So I figured, maybe, we could find her." She nodded.

"We can try. We still have to find brother Genitive, but I think we need to hurry our time her, lest the arl gets worse." I throat clenched as she said that, and I think she saw. "But I'm sure he'll be fine. No worries, Alistair, we will save him." She walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. "I promise. I know with the Blight and everything that this is all hard. But I am going to save all I can either way." I smiled at her and my body decided to act on its own. My arms wrapped around her and I held her close. Though it was cold out here, the feeling of her against me made warmth flood through me.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Am I interrupting?!" he quickly let go of each other like we were shocked as we see Leliana outside her tent.

"Eh, no." Replies Morriana. "At any rate, pack up and wake everyone up. We need to get moving." She nods and heads into her tent to pack.

###

About an hour later we were fed, packed, and ready to go. As we walked through the gates and into the city I was hit with a strong burst of perfume, spice, and the smell that simply said "city". I walked at Morriana's side as she led us to the market, her smile and happiness growing with each step. It was only now I realized it: _**she's from Denerim and hasn't been here in… I don't even know how long anymore! She's bursting with joy and eagerness to get home. **_I had wondered what her family would be like and I know she couldn't wait to see them.

We followed her into the market. The smell of perfume and spice got even more enhanced as we entered. As I looked around the market I noticed that there were a _lot _of people. But then again, what else would you expect from a city.

"Alright," Morriana said, turning towards everyone. "Bodahn, you and your son are free to go trade with the merchants. Zevran, Leliana, I have a job for you both. I want you two to find where Genitive is and find out any important information on him." They nodded. "We meet at the Gnawed Nobel tavern and dusk. Am I clear?" They nodded. "Very well, Orrick and Alistair, come with me. Morrigan, you can turn into a wolf and follow Bodahn, if you wish. I know that you're not used to the city and such." Morrigan gave a sigh before creating a bright green and yellow glow and shifted into a wolf. I noticed her clothes were nowhere to be found. Where they went was beyond me.

"Zevran and Leliana, you can find us once you have information on Genitive. Now, let's go." We all then went our separate ways. Sten decided to tag along, since he'd rather not be with Bodahn and the witch. As Morriana and I walked up front and Sten and Orrick behind us Morriana sighed.

"It has been a long time since I walked through the crowed of the market." I smiled.

"Same here. I came here when I was very young with arl Eamon. He even bought me a toy golem." I suddenly realized what I said and was about to make up some excuse, I heard her chuckle.

"I've always wanted one of those. But I could never have one." I looked at her confused.

"Why?" she sighed, this time more sadly.

"The Alienage is the poorest part of the entire city. There were many luxuries I wasn't able to afford. Toys being one of them. Shianni and I made our own. They weren't… the best, to say at least, but when you live in such a poor community you have to be as resourceful as you can. I only ever had three toy of my own my whole life." I nearly stopped dead in my tracks but kept walking. Even as unwanted as the arl had made me felt when I was young I still had toys. I never had as much as his son had, but I still had more than three.

"I… I'm sorry." I said to her, not knowing what else to say. I had no idea the Alienage was like that. Sure I knew that it wasn't wealthy as much as the rest of Denerim, but I never knew it was so deprived of so much.

"It's not your fault. It's just the way things are. It's like the Blight. It happens, we can't really do much about it, and it sucks." My arm, moving on its own, went around her shoulders. She jumped, unexpected it, but did not protest. "I don't want you feeling pity for me." she mumbled. I chuckled this time.

"I know." She huffed a laugh.

I looked around, seeing how much Denerim chanced since my youth. But I suddenly came to a brute stopped, which nearly caused Morriana to fall over.

"Alistair, wha-"

"That's my sister's house," I claimed. "Could… could we see if she's home?" I asked, hesitantly. Morriana huffed.

"I already told you yes this morning, Alistair." I gave a nervous laugh.

"My sister. Huh, that sounds a bit strange. Sister. Sssssiiiiissssttteeeerrr!" She laughed as I explored the word. When I realized I was just making a fool of myself I felt my cheeks getting warm. "Uh, let's. L-lets just go." She nodded, trying desperately, by unsuccessfully, not to laugh at me.

"Sten and Orrick, please remain out here." She said to them. Sten nodded. And Orrick gave an argumental bark since he couldn't come, but sat next to Sten anyway. Taking a deep breath I reached for the door handle and walked in.

The house was very simply. The kitched laid to our right and stair were in front of us. A fire place burned on our left finning the air with the smell of whatever was making. Toys and other items littered the floor, so it was easy to say I had a few nieces and nephews. I cleared my throat.

"Eh, hello?" I called out. There were some thuds as someone walked down the stairs. When they reached the bottom there was a woman in front of us. I could see a slight resemblance between us in facial features. Her hair was long and my color hair, only a bit darker and a slight tint of more red. Her eyes, though, were a darker green than my hazel. She was no doubt older than I, perhaps a bit more than a decade.

"Yes? Are you here for cleaning? I charge three bit a bundle and you won't find better. Anyone else who says different is foreign and will probably robe you blind." She said, folding her arms.

"Um, no, I'm not here for that." I said.

"Oh? Then why are you then?"

"Well, are you Goldana?" I asked. I didn't want to tell someone else by mistake I was their brother.

"Yes I am. Why?" She unfolded her arms and rested her hands on her hips.

"Well… my name is Alistair. I… I'm your brother." I came out with it and she looked shocked for a moment. We stayed quiet for a while until she spoke.

"Alright, what kind of tom-foolery are you two up with?"

"He's telling the truth, please, just listen." Morriana begged. Goldana ignored her and focused on me.

"Our mother worked as a servant girl in Redcliff castle. Did you know that? She—" whatever I was about to say was cut off by her.

"You! I knew it! They told me you were dead along with mother but I knew it wasn't true!"

"Wait, what? Who? Who told you I was dead?"

"The people at the castle. I told them the babe was the kings and they said he was dead. I knew it!"

"I…I'm sorry. The babe didn't die. I'm him. I'm your brother." I said calmly, even though I wasn't anywhere near.

"For all the good it does me." she snapped with a scoff. "You killed mother you did and I've had to scrap by all this time! Your royal father forced himself on my mother and what do I got to show for it? Nothing!" I jumped when she yelled at me.

"That's hardly Alistair's fault!" Morriana said to her. "It's not like Alistair just went 'oh hey, this will be hilarious killing my own mother. You know, for shit and giggles, just so I can ruin the sister I-never-knew's life.'" This time Goldana scoffed at her.

"And who in the Maker's name are you?" she snapped. "Some elven whore following after his riches?" Morriana scoffed back before I could say anything.

"Riches? Alistair doesn't even have a home. He grew up in the chantry. You this just because the king slept with her and made him would make him a bona-fide price? He—"

"I don't care what he is, and neither you. Now get out of my house, the both of you!" I said nothing else. I turned on my heel and opened the door, ignoring how bright the sun was in a darkened house. Once Morriana was outside I slammed the door.

"This is the family I've been wondering about all my life?" I muttered as I leaned against the wall of the next building. I saw Orrick and Sten a distance off. Maybe they got the hint to leave us alone for a moment.

"I'm so sorry Alistair." Morriana said coming up in front of me. I laughed coldly without even knowing it.

"I can't believe that unbelievable shrew is my sister. The only family I have."

"That's not true." I looked up.

"It's not? Because I have who? Eamon? Tegan? Certainly not Isolde." She stayed quiet for a moment then spoke.

"Well, you don't need her. You have others who care for you." I scoffed.

"Who? Duncan was the only one who ever cared for me and he's gone." Before she could say much else I pushed off the wall and began walking off. I heard a murmur behind me from Morriana. And even though it was quiet I heard it.

"I care about you."

I stopped. I looked over my shoulder to her. Orrick was now standing beside her and Sten only a few feet away. I opened my mouth to say something, but ended up closing it.

**I apologize for not getting this chapter up sooner. School has started for me and I have been busy with Homework and colorguard some chapter maybe later than they should be but I will try at my best to get them up as fast as I can in due time. Thank you all for waiting patiently for me to upload!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22  
~Imposter~**

**Morriana**

As I watched Alistair walk away tears brimmed in my eyes. I stood there a moment, unable to do anything. But then, I nearly fell over when Orrick butted his head against my legs and gave a pitiful whine, sensing my emotions. I bent down and petted him before following after Alistair. A slient hung over us that was both uneasy and wanted. As we walked around I finally noticed the gate to the Alienage. Losing all of my hurt from Alistair, I trotted over to it, eager to see the faces of my family and friends. Only, as I neared, more slowly now, I noticed the gate was closed. It was hardly ever closed.

"I'm sorry, but you cant go in there." A guard standing next to it said.

"W-why?" I asked, hesitantly.

"There's been a plague going around in there, and we don't need it spreading." I gasped loudly, and covered my mouth, all happiness drained from me and the hurt and sorrow returned to take its place. **How? How could this have happened?! I know the Alienage was never the healthiest, but there's never been a plague. Oh, father! Shianni! Soris! Please be okay.**

I turned and walked away. I couldn't bear to be right there anymore. I wasn't sure how long I was walking until arms wrapped around me. Arms I knew to be Alistair's. He turned me around and hugged me, something I thought he wouldn't do right now. Not since after Goldana.

"It's okay," he whispered to me. "I'm sure they're okay. They'll be fine and you'll see them again. They will be so happy to see you." He kept whispering words like this to me. It was only a few seconds later I realized I was crying.I clung to Alistair as more tears fell. I just couldn't afford to lose them! Not now!

"Um, excuse me, wardens." Both Alistair and I jump as we see Leliana and Zevran standing near us. I never even noticed them arrive. "We've got the information you asked for." I nodded and whipped my eyes dry.

"Whacha got?" I asked, pretending as is I was never crying. Sten came and stood with as and Orrick laid at my feet.

"Genitive lives across from the Gnawed Nobel." Zevran started.

"From what we've found out he found some information on the ashes, and left a while back, but we don't know where. However we could ask his assistant, Weylon, as to his position." Leliana continued. I nodded.

"We're not supposed to meet until dusk. Let's go ahead and see what he knows." Leliana nodded and Zevran gave a small bow. I led them to where I knew the tavern was and then to the house across from it. **Strange. I wonder why someone, especially a scholar, would choose to have a house right in front of a tavern.**

I knocked on the door and waited. When no one answered I knocked again. This time I heard footsteps and the door creaked open a little.

"Yes?" someone inside asked. "Who is it?"

"My name is Morriana. I was sent here by the arlessa of Redcliff to find Brother Genitive," I replied, trying to be as formal as I could.

"He's not here at the moment." He replied.

"I know. We're trying to find him. We were wondering if you knew where he went." He simply stood there a moment then opened the door. Before me was a man, only maybe a few years older than Alistair, with deep black hair and brown eyes.

"Very well, come in." I smiled as best I could, despite my crying not too long ago. I still felt the pain, but I ignored it. as we walked in we saw books and papers cluttered everywhere. A long table stood in the middle of the dining room and there was a doorway that led to a study, where there were more books.

"Thank you for letting us in, Weylon." I thanked.

"I don't know why you're looking for the ashes." Weylon shook his head. "These ashes are a curse."

"What do you mean?" Alistair asked.

"Genitive left and I've gotten no word from him. When I told the Redcliff knights where he went they didn't come back, nor did they let me know if he was found or not."

"I know. That's why we need to find him. We should make sure he's okay, along with the knights."

"You are walking to your own death." Weylon sighed, rubbing his head. "'Course, Weylon did say to not argue with fools, for it would only be a waste of breath." **What? Was he trying to prove something to us?**

"So tell us," I said as I began walking around. "Where is he?"

"He mentioned he'd be staying at an inn near Lake Calenhad. That's where I told the knights to go, but I don't—hey what do you think you're doing?!" he yelled as soon as he saw I had reached the door on the far side of the room. I put my hand on the handle.

"I was just going to look around." Looking over his shoulder, I saw Alistair, Sten, and Leliana bring out their weapons. Zevran, however, seemed to have disappeared.

"No! You can't go in there. Genitive has…papers in there that shouldn't be disturbed."

"Then I wont mess anything up," I answered smartly. I could see him getting angry

"No, don't touch that door!" He hands suddenly began glowing and he sent a crashing spell onto me, tossing me aside. The others sprang into action. Leliana shot an arrow at him that lodged in his shoulder and Alistair bashed him with his shield. Sten literally walked up and stuck him with his blade, ending him.

I coughed as I tried to sit up, trying to refill my lungs. **Maker, that… whatever it was took the breath out of me.** Alistair dropped his sword and shield and rushed to me, helping me up.

"It's okay, it's okay, just breath slowly." He told me. I did what he said, and I was finally breathing normal again.

"Maker's breath." I swore.

"Are you alright?" Leliana asked as she kneeled down next to me.

"Yes," I nodded, "the bastard just knocked the wind out of me, s'all." He nodded, though still looked conserned.

"Warden!" Zevran called, stepping out of the room "Weylon" didn't want us going into. "You may want to see this. I nodded and Alistair helped me up. I walked into the room and found what Zevran meant. There was a body on the ground that looked at least a few days old.

"Is this Genitive?" I asked to no one unparticular. Alistair knelt by the body, obviously trying to ignor the smell.

"No. This must have been his actual assistant. But I wonder why he was attacked."

"Over here!" Leliana chimed. I looked over to see she had some documents in her hands. "This mentions a place called Haven, south of the Frostback mountains. That must be where he went!"

"Then let's get everyone together. I don't want us staying here, in Denerim tonight. Too dangerous," I added when I saw Alistair's questioning look. "Let's go by some supplies and then wait until we need to meet up." They all nodded and we went back out into the sunshine.

We had then gone to a sergeant of the Denerim guard and told him of the body and a quick explanation as to what was going on. He told us that he would take care of the body and sent us on our way. As we walked around Denerim I felt the memory of what I was told rearising and tears prickled my eyes, although none fell. I would save that for tonight, when no one was around. Alistair noticed my uneasiness and put an arm around me.

Despite how awful I felt, which usually lead to the cuts on my wrist, I began thinking: **Maybe… maybe there are better things I could do than these self-inflictions. Maybe, with Alistair's help, I could stop and face this, rather than pretending it's not there and I don't have to do anything about it and blaming myself.**

**Okay, onto the news:**

**Alert!:**

Attention readers! A post has been set up on my profile on an upcoming contest as to which story I will write next. The suggestions are posted and you get to choose which will come next. If you would like to vote please send me a PM or write it in the review. Of you would like to make a suggestion on one-shots or songfics, there are some rules and other suggestions I have set up.

**Mi luvs u alls! 3 :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23  
~I love you ~  
Alistair**

Its wasn't usual for us to have a meeting here in camp. And when we do, it's usually for something important. Morriana was the one who called them. When had one before we came to Denerim, in which we all voice our opinions. We all sat outside Denerim where we had set up camp the night before. I, for one was glad we got warmer clothing and more supplies, with an addition to Bodahn restocking.

I sat on a stump from a tree long since being a tree. Zevran sat not too far away and Orrick lay at my feet. Morrigan even joined, though she looked half concerned, half bored. Morriana stood and cleared her throat so the ones that were talking (Leliana and Wynne and Zevran, to be exact) would stop.

"We found today evidence that Genitive found a lead to the ashes," Morriana starts. "It's a place called 'Haven'. I don't think it's a known place, but we need to try. But I know that wherever the ashes are, Genitive is. It's down near the bottom tip of the Frostback Mountains. It will be cold, but we will find it. And—"

"So we should all freeze to death looking for a mad woman? Excellent." Muttered Morrigan.

"Anyway," Morriana continues. "By the location, it should take us around six, seven days, however due to the cold weather and the inclusion of the mountains and soon to fall snow, it may take us longer than a week or so."

"But we don't have that kind of time!" I call out. "Eamon could be dead already, for all we know."

"I know that, Alistair. But we have to do this. Do you know any other way of solving this?" I stayed silent. "Very well, does anyone have any other objections?" I saw Sten rise and Morriana looked at him with a questioning glance.

"Interesting strategy. Do you intend to keep moving north until it becomes south and attack the darkspawn from behind? Is this your plan? Or is that you run around doing countless errands while the Blight continues to move and spread? It would surprise me if my enemy fooled me by running away on a mountain." he asked.

"No one's running Sten, this is necessary." Morriana replies.

"The archdemon is our goal and we are heading away from it to find the charred remints of a dead woman. I will not simply follow in your shadow while you run for battle."

"Sten, I'm in charge so I would think what I say goes." She retorted at him.

"Not anymore. I am taking command. Defend yourself." Sten says as he picked up his blade. I jumped to my feet so fast everything became suddenly bright. I picked up my sword and shield and moved in front of Morriana, defending her with the shield. "And so you need your companions who now decide to have a spine to defend you? Pity." When I look around I see everyone has leapt to their feet and brought out their weapons. Even Morrigan and Zevran.

"Hold on, everyone stop!" Morriana shouts. Everyone seemed to freeze. Even me. "Alistair, put the sword away. That goes for all of you. Now!" She shouted when no one complied. We all did, save for Sten. "Sten, I don't need them defending me." she told him. _**Was she truly going to fight him? **_

"Then draw your weapon." He demanded back.

"No." she said simply. "I won't fight you because there's nothing to fight about. Sten, I don't plan to fight the archdemon head on at the moment, Sten. We aren't prepared. That's why we're doing this. We need and army, we need people on our side, we need the county to be as one with each other. If we faced it head on then it's simply us against an entire hoard and a big-arse dragon. That's suicide. So don't you think we need to do this in order to stop it?" He stayed silent.

"That's what I thought. We leave bright an early," she then called out to everyone, "so head to sleep early. I'll be taking first watch." We all did as she said and Sten withdrew to himself for the rest of the night.

As everyone headed into their tents after dinner and bathing I sat next to Morriana, who was more over focused on the fire. I stayed silent for a moment, contemplating on what to say. She had been the best to me, perhaps not at first but then she was. And when I looked back on how I acted after Goldana… I feel so guilty.

"Listen Morriana, I'm sorry about what I said after we saw my… my sister." She turned her gaze to me and listened. "I know you care about me. Maybe that's just something that I'm having trouble with. Not that I don't want it," I quickly add. "But… my whole life I was never wanted so… well, I'm glad that I have someone like you here, with me. I feel lucky in fact." She smiles brightly, making the dark of night light up like the sun. "It could have been left with anyone when this started, and I'm glad it was you. I…I think… I know that I love you." Morriana sharply sucked in air and looked at me wide eyes. I know perhaps it might not have been long since I met her but I'm grateful all the same.

"I do love you, Morriana." I continue. "I know it hasn't been long but… I know what I feel." I move my hand to cuff her cheek. Her skin is so soft against my calloused hands and it sends sparks through my entire body.

"I love you too." She whispers back to me. My lips move on their own to for a smile, and her is far from forced. I lean over and let my lips meet hers. Just like the first time we kissed it felt like I was being shocked and it felt right. To be her with her, to have her in my life…I couldn't ask for more.

Morriana sighs as it becomes more passionate. Our arms wrap around each other and I enjoyed the feel over her close to me. Leaning more into her she moved down until her back lay on the grass and we were still kissing. As we kissed I laid more on her, our bodies pressing together. Suddenly she gasps and her arms move to my chest, and instead of moving on, she stopped kissing me and pushed me away. She was gasping for air, utter fear showed in her eyes, and her body quacked.

"Mori, what's wrong?" I didn't acknowledge that I finally shortened her name. I moved off of her and didn't touch her as she moved back up. I waited until her breathing back normal again and she buried her face in her hands. "Mori?" I said again.

"I thought I'd be over this." I hear her whisper.

"Mori?" finally she looks up, tears brimming her eyes. Hesitantly I reach out to her, cautious to whether she wants me to touch her or not. She answers that by taking the hand and placing it on her cheek. Now knowing she wasn't afraid of me, I moved closer and took her into my arms. "It's okay," I whisper. "Everything's going to be okay."

"I know." She says back. After a silent moment she moves so she can look me in the eyes. "I love you." I smile and lean in to kiss her once again. I don't know what just happened before, but whenever she wants to tell me she can.

**Just a small sweet chap. And next! We have Haven! Ah haven…. Always creped me out. Anyway, two more things. First, I apologize for being late once again, my bad. Second a thax to Fifespice for the many reviews. I mean, I was just sitting on my couch and I see my review go from 25 to 30 something and then more came every few minutes and I was all like "Ho-ly s### that was fast!" So thank you for the reviews! And for making my day!**

**Also, don't forget to vote on the next story.**

**Hugs to all my little gumdrops and see you all in the next chapter!**

**And yes, I am now calling my followers **_**gumdrops**_**!**

**Luv to all!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24  
~Haven Anyone? Anyone? ~**

**Morriana**

It was bright and early when I woke, just like I wanted. When I dressed in my armor and sheathed my new enchanted sword that Sandal was kind enough to enchant for me. A fire rune, an electricity rune, and an ice rune will do nice damage. I packed up what needed to be at the moment I crawled out of my tent where I saw Leliana and Zevran talking. Morrigan seemed to be awake are her far off camp, though I didn't bother going over to her. I know how she sometimes is in the morning. I thought back to when she did decide to come over and talk to me. It was nice to get to know her. I was glad she wasn't at all like what Alistair think's she is. She truly isn't.

As I walked over to them I realized Leliana was blushing and Zevran had a flirtatious smile on his face, almost reminding me of Davath when he did the same to me. I pushed that memory aside and walked to sat on the other side of Zevran.

"And so it appears my audience grows." He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes. "As I was saying, I was eventually pulled out of the water by urchins. They robed me blind, however. Made off with my boots." I scoffed.

"At least you're lucky that they didn't cut your throat." Zevran laughed at this.

"Yes! I am indeed very lucky."

"Zevran was telling me about how he took part in the assassination of a prince." Leliana explained. I raised an eyebrow, and Zevran then went over what he had told Leliana about killing the guards, falling out the window and into the water below. Well, to me two things could have gone wrong**. One, the urchins killing him and two, there could have been no water below.** When I said this, Zevran laughed again.

It wasn't long later that Alistair woke and then Sten shortly after. Seeing how everyone was waking, I asked Leliana to wake Wynne and commanded everyone to pack up.

###

It wasn't but a half hour later that we were finally on the road again. Orrick pranced at my feet and Bodahn's wagon stayed behind us. Alistair walked in front to my left and Zevran decided to be to my right. He told me a few stories about missions he had done and women and men. I was not so amused by that. By Alistair's blushing I'd say he wasn't too comfortable either. We walked all day and took a few breaks then camped at night.

**Alistair**

We arrived at the Frostback Mountains a week and a half later. Moving through the trees we eventually stumbled upon a path, leading up the mountain.

"We'll stop here a moment!" Morriana called out to everyone. They all stopped and she turned to them. "This path should take us up the mountain," she started. "I don't want all of us to go. Wynne, I want you to stay. I don't think you could handle the walk up, no offence."

"None taken, dear." Wynne said in her soft motherly tone.

"Morrigan, I need you to come. Same for Alistair, and Zevran. Sten and Leliana, I need you to stay behind too. Bodahn, do you wish to come with us to see if you can trade?"

"I would like to see what this place might hold." He agreed. "I'll come, yes."

"Enchantment!" Sandal exclaimed. Morriana chuckled at him. Orrick, when we get up there, guard Bodahn, alright?" Orrick barked in annoyance to which he would not be with her, but lowered his head in understanding. "Good. Let's go!" We nodded and those of us going tugged along while the others moved to set up camp.

As we scaled further up I noticed it was becoming colder. Not ten minutes after we had begun on we were forced to pull out furs we had bought in Denerim to stay warm. About a half hour we finally caught the glimpses of smoke rising from houses and then fifteen more minutes later the village came into view. It wasn't much to look at, really. There were few houses and no one was out, save for a guard near the entrance and a little boy a bit off. There was some kind of feeling around here; like there was something evil in the air. For a moment I detected the slightest sense of magic. But since Morrigan was with us, I brushed it off assuming it was her.

As we were about to walk into the village, the guard stepped in front of us.

"Hold it right there." He commanded his voice deep and eye stern. What do you think you're doing here?"

"We have come to trade, good sir," Bodahn chimed in his merchant voice. "I saw the path to this little village here and assumed there'd be some nice people to trade with."

"There's nothing really to trade. But you'll have ta' take it up with the village storekeeper, I suppose."

"Thank you, sir," Bodahn bowed his head and whipped the rains to the horses to move on. We began to follow, but, once again, the guard stopped us.

"I said he could go. I said nothing to the lights of you." Since I had some inability to lie (most likely from being raised in a chantry all my life) I said nothing as Morriana moved forward.

"We are here with the merchant. We were hired to keep them safe. So, I would like it if you let us do what we're paid for and let us move on." Morriana replied back to him, a hard look in her eyes that would make her be assumed a mercenary. The guard stood there a moment, contemplating on what to say. Finally we simply waved us off and we moved on. I smiled and followed behind Morriana as she went off to catch up to Bodahn.

He was standing next to his cart as we caught up to him. He did not ask about our delay, which I was actually thankful for. Bodahn, Sandal, Zevran, Morriana and I walked casually into the store while Morrigan stayed with the cart.

As we walked in we saw the merchant behind his counter, sitting on his stool with an open book on the counter. Looking up as we walked in, his eyes widened and he stood up with enough speed that the stool nearly fell over.

"You don't belong here." He hissed at us, causing us to flinch, save for Zevran for some reason. _**Well, such a lovely greeting. Maybe if he threw something at us we'd feel like the most welcomed people in all of Thedas.**_

"Well, you see, good sir," Bodahn stepped forward. "I have some nice goods and figured I'd might be able to trade with this settlement." The shop owner thought for a moment then shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't know. Perhaps I could see what you might have." He walked around the counter, still looking at us suspiciously. I noticed a small lump on his clothes an knew he had a dagger with him.

"Right, then," Bodahn said in his cheery voice. If you'll step outside to my wagon I'll show you what I have." The shop keeper nodded and followed Bodahn to the door then stopped and turned to us.

"If any of you touch anything, you'll be sorry. I swear it." he said to us with a sharp look that chilled my blood more than the snow did. They walked out and shut the door behind them and I let out breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Makers breath, that was close—wait, where's Zevran?" Morriana said, looking around to see him not here. The others looked around too._**I know he was here. He just talked… **_

"Well, it seems my disappearance would could some stress on you, would it not? It is nice to know I have become loved in such a small amount of time." We look up to see Zevran in the door way to the next room of the shop. Morriana huffs a laugh.

"How did you move that fast? I mean, are you some kind of mage?! Do you have some kind of power of speed that I should know about?" She asked, jokingly. Zevran laughed, clearly amused at her humor.

"That, my fellow elf, is only for me to know. At any rate, you must see this," He replied becoming more serious. She nodded and followed him into the next room where a small pile of bodies laid, covered in blood and I knew instantly who we found: The Redcliff soldiers. I felt bile rise in my throat as I saw them.

"Nice work. But Genitive doesn't seem to be here. So either they have him in some other place, or he's dead."

"Or worse," Morrigan added, shifting her weight to her left leg and folding her arms.

"Or worse," Morriana agreed. My shoulders slumped, realizing that maybe things were about to become more difficult.

**I thank all of my gumdrops for their wonderful reviews and for being patient until my next chap! **

**Mi luvs u all!**

**My next chap will be us as soon as I am able, but I will try to have it sooner than before.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Yay! Welcome back HikariYagami! Looks like you caught up fast!**

**Chapter 25  
~Andraste's cult~ **

**Morriana**

We left the store with Bodahn after their hour of trading and only little gossip. While that did that I took my time walking around the village. Peering through windows I found no sign of anyone here at the moment, save for a little boy playing with a finger and singing some odd song. I talked to him, and found only little about what was going on.

I headed back to Bodahn as he stood next to his cart with everyone else.

"Alright, Bodahn, we're going to find out what's going on here. I need you to go back with the others, just to be safe." He nodded.

"I will, my lady." We waited until he was packed up and went on his way. The guard who had been their earlier was gone for some reason, which was good and bad. No more suspicion as to why the merchant left, leaving his mercenaries behind. But on the other hand he could have gone to tell the people who might have taken Genitive and then they could come after us if we don't hurry.

We trekked up another hill near the village that lead up to another building, only larger than the other buildings. Even when we were half way to it I could hear singing. It way beautiful, but I didn't know what it was.

"They're singing the chant!" Leliana said, a bit surprised and answering my questioning thought.

"I wouldn't know what the chant sounds like." I admitted. "I've been in a chantry only once when I was very young." Leliana stopped.

"But I thought… you were a Maker—"

"Worshiper? I am. Most in the Alienage are. But it's not like we have our very own chantry. We were hardly even allowed out whenever we wanted. They caged us like the animals they thought we were." Alistair winced as I spoke. I know he hated it when I talked about it. **But it **_**is **_**the truth, wasn't it? **

When we finally reach the singing got louder. **Well, it's not like they live near other people to bother. I suppose they can be as loud as they want. **Without hesitating, I opened the doors, and the four of us walked in. There in the center of the large room stood the rest of the villagers in a circle, with some guards stationed in various places around the room. The apparent priest stopped chanting as we walked in, letting the door slam shut to make us completely know to all in the room.

They all turned and looked at us. Some curious, some angry, and others frightened for reasons I had no idea. I walked along the room, keeping a hand close to the dagger at my belt, as I made my way to the priest. The people broke the circle, letting us pass and I stopped in front of him.

"Welcome child," he greeted, bowing his head. "It is an honor to have such guests in our small village here. I trust you are enjoying your stay?" The villagers obviously knew something we didn't at this time and quickly left. Out of the corner of my eyes I caught Zevran disappearing into the shadows.

"Where's Genitive?" I ask, getting strait to the point. His welcoming look turned into a cold scowl.

"This, my friends, is what happens when outsiders come into our village. You will bring war among Haven." It was then he shot an arcane blot at me that flew me across the room. I stumbled to regain my balance, but ended twisting my ankle . However, through my adrenalin rush, I didn't notice it. I stood and pulled out my blades, dancing around the guards and killed them easily. Alistair used smite against the priest and stabbed him with his sword then pushed his off with his shield. The rest died quickly by our companion's hands.

As my adrenalin rush ceased, pain struck my ankle, causing me to cry out in pain and crumbled to the floor. I heard a loud _cling _of metal hitting the floor and Alistair was suddenly at my side. I struggled to keep my breathing calm and even, but, even with Alistair there, the pain was just too much. I had actually broken my ankle when I was home, but not even then had it hurt this badly.

Morrigan dropped in front of me and rummaged through her pack.

"Why… why does this hurt so… much?" I asked, barely choking out the words.

"When your leg was injured at the tower it was healed my magic, then on its own. Perhaps it did not heal all together as we thought." Now that I thought back, I normally walked in front as we traveled and somehow when we camped I found myself in the back, like I had slowed down.

"I'm fine—" I tried to stand but Alistair and Morrigan pulled me back down.

"No. If you do, then you will only make it worse. Zevran, see if you can find Genitive while we attend to her." Alistair said. Despite taking orders from someone who wasn't the leader, Zevran nodded and dug through the priests pockets. Alistair moved to sit behind me, to support me, and (after he removed his gauntlets, of course,) rubbed my shoulders to ease my pain. Morrigan brewed up a potion that didn't seem to have a smell to it. I hear something moving behind me and turned to see part of the wall moving with Zevran in front of it. Inside, I could see numerous amounts of books and a figure lying on the ground. Zevran ran to him and talked to him, but their voices were too muffled.

"Here," I turned and Morrigan forced the potion down my throat. "This will not heal it but it will numb the pain.

"No, she needs to be healed," Alistair argued, keeping his hands on my shoulders as I began to feel a bit dizzy.

"I'm sorry, but were you not the one complaining we needed to be faster the entire way here?" He didn't reply.

"We can move on after this, but the potion will wear off in twenty four hours." I nodded.

"That's just fine. If we're gone longer than that can you make more?" I asked and she nodded. I waited a moment until the dizziness stopped and Alistair helped me up. We then walked into the next room, once they were sure I wouldn't fall, and saw Zevran knealing next to a man sitting on the ground.

"Genitive?" I said. **Please, please, please…**

"Y-yes. I am. Your friend told me about why you're here. You have to help me find the ashes."

"We will," Alistair agreed.

"But, his foot isn't doing too well," Zevran explained.

"We'll help him then." Zevran nodded and went to his left while Alistair took the right.

"Wait, there should be an amulet—" Genitive broke off when Zevran showed it to him. "Yes. That's it. When we get there I should be able to figure out how to use it."

###

**Alistair**

It felt almost ten times colder when Genitive took us up the mountain to a door that, apparently, would lead to the ashes. I watched, curiously, as he worked the amulet and opened the door. The inside took my breath away.

Icicles hung on the high ceiling and snow covered the ground and built us at the corners. The structure of the walls was beautify done, most preserved in time due to the cold. A stair case was directly in front of us with a fire pit in front of his, lite recently too. All of us were amazed. Even Morrigan.

"This… this is just… amazing!" Genitive said is awe. When I looked to Morriana she had one of her wondrous smiles on her face and her eyes glistened like the ice. It just brought warmth to me.

"We'll be back when we can Genitive," Morriana told him, still gazing around.

"Very well. Return when you have the ashes. I… I need to study this architecture…." He stopped talking as he went to the wall to look as the designs and we went on. _**I hope that he, at least, stays in place. We done need to be looking all over for him… again.**_

We ran into a group of the cultists as we began to ascend the stairs, and they were not too happy about us desecrating their temple/home place. When it ended we tried going through a door, only to find out it was locked.

After venturing around in four other rooms, we eventually found the key and moved on. More cultists attacked and we nearly killed ourselves on all the traps laid out. Luckily Morriana and Zevran caught them and quickly disabled them. I honestly had no idea how long we were in there. But when I saw that we were all getting more tired and Morriana was starting to limp.

"I think we should stop," Morriana said to me. I nodded and she told Zevran and Morrigan we were just going to stop and set up. We didn't bother with a fire to alert any more cultists, but we tried to be careful. Morrigan took first watch, and the rest of us laid down on our bed rolls. Mine was placed next to Morriana's. Morrigan decided spider form would be best for watch and crawled onto the cavern ceiling for stealth. Pulling a blanket over herself, Morriana laid on her side, facing me. I did the same. We stayed like that a moment, just looking into each other's eyes. I honestly couldn't tell what she was think or what her emotion was.

My eyes then flickered to the movement of her hand as she slid it closer to me. I did the same so my hand lay on top of her. She smiled and I squeezed her hand. When she laid her head down on her pillow she fell asleep not much longer. I listened to her steady breathing and smiled. I fell asleep not long after, my hand still holding hers.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26  
~Ashes to ashes~**

**Morriana**

I woke in what I assumed was morning. Alistair was gone by my side and was on watch. There was a small part of me was disappointed that I didn't wake to him next to me, but I was overjoyed when he had been next to me, something I've never felt before. He was sitting on a rock, facing the opposite way of us. I stood and pulled my blanket over my shoulders. I limped to him, seeing as my foot was hurting again, making little sound. When I was closer I saw he looked lost in thought. I walked around him and stood before him. He looked up at me with a smile.

"Morning." He said. I chuckled.

"What we hope is morning, you mean?" He shrugged and stood. He then noticed me trying not to put pressure on my foot and then looked back up at me.

"Does it still hurt?" I nod. He helped me back to the others and we woke them up and packed up. Morrigan made more of her smell-less potion to help me not feel pain and then we were off.

###

The further we ventured into the cave, the weirder things got. We found young dragon and drakes in the care of more cultists. Alistair explained that we could take the scales off the drakes and make armor out of it. I agreed and did so onto the three drakes we found. We also had to fight some old mage with a magical sword, which I allowed Morrigan to carry on her belt.

Finally we came to another opening. A man stood in front of us with other cultists.

"Stop!" He bellowed at me. "You will go no further!" I jumped at his tone, and put a hand to the hilt of my sword.

"And you are…?" I asked, calmly. Someone here was finally talking to me and I didn't want to mess it up. **Well, not too quickly.**

"You do not have the right to demand my name!"

"Well, it wasn't a 'demand' so much as 'asked'…" He cut me off.

"You have defied our temple, spilled the blood of the faithful and slaughtered our young! No more!" He reached forward and grabbed me by my armor." The others pulled out their weapons out, as did the cultists. "No more. You will tell me now, intruder, why you have done all this. Why have you come her.

"Wait!" I shouted. "We have come for the Urn of Sacred Ashes." The man was silent, as if he was contemplating what to say next.

"You did all this for an ancient relic? You will pay for the blood you have spilled here. If you dare kill us, Andrastae will smell our blood and the blood of her children on you and Her wrath will be great."

"Children?" Alistair said behind me. "You mean the dragons? Is Andraste a dragon?"

"She is so much more. She is even more glorious than all the Old Gods combined. The prophet Andrastae has overcome death itself and has returned to Her faithful in a form more radiant then you could imagine! Not even the Tevinter Imperium could hope to see her now. What hope have you?!"

"What has happened to the ashes?"

"They are still within the Temple. But why do we need the ashes when we serve the risen Andrastae in all Her glory. What are her ashes but the remains of a mortal woman?"

"And why not give them to us?" I piped up, still in his hands. His eyes suddenly lite up, like he had an idea.

"So you are after the ashes? Hmm… perhaps there is a way for you to make up for your destruction of our home and temple. Perhaps through Andraste's mercy, Her greatest enemy will become her greatest champion." He then set me down easily and I gestured for my team to put away their weapons. They did so, reluctantly. "I am Father Kolgrim, leader of Andraste's disciples."

"What must I do?" I asked. I jumped as Alistair grabbed my arm.

"You're not seriously considering this, are you?" He whispered to me. I "shushed" him and turned back

"The ashes you seek reside atop this mountain, watched by an immortal guardian who refuses to accept the truth of the risen Lady. Now the ashes prevent Holy Andraste from fully realizing Her new form. They are a remnant of Her past incarnations, and she cannot move on a long as they exist."

"You would destroy the ashes?" Alistair said. "I would see you dead first!" I nodded in agreement. Not that I really didn't care what happened to the ashes, but I knew they were too important to be destroyed. We pulled back out our weapons, as did they.

The fight against him was brutal. Korlgrim swung his great axe at us like it weighed nothing. His followers were also powerful. A mage and other warriors battled the others while I handled Kolgrim. Blades met in combat and I eventually caught him with my sword at his side while he lifted his blade to strike. I then swiped my sword under his feet and stabbed his chest, twisting the blade. When I had looked to the others their enemies for sprawled onto the floor and they seemed uninjured, save for a few small cuts and bruises they might get. I straitened and whipped whatever blood was on my face off.

"Let's move on."

###

We stumbled cautiously out of the cavern and outside. the mountain that lay in front of us was as majestic as the temple was and it took out breath away. Suddenly, a loud roar caught our attention. Looking up, a large dragon flew over us, its loud scream forcing us to cover our ears. It flew around then landed on a part of the mountain then lied down, seeming to ignore us completely.

"I once heard that if you sing a dragon a song it will be calmed." Leliana piped behind me. I scoffed.

"Yeah, we should totally test that out." I said sarcastically. "Let's move, and move quickly. We need to find the ashes and go." They nodded and we walked on, quickly. The dragon remained in its place as we passed and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

When we finally reached a door on the other side we walked in and were met with a cold rush of cold air that nearly froze me to my bones. **I may love Ferelden and have lived here my whole life, but damn all this cold! **We walked and as we turned a corner we saw a figure at the end of the hall, standing in front of the door. Cautiously, we walked to him. He stood so still he looked like a statue. He didn't even seem to breathing.

"I bid you welcome, pilgrim." He said when we were close enough, causing me to jump and my hand reach to my blade. I relaxed when I saw no sign he was an enemy and decided on what to say.

"I have come for the Urn of Sacred Ashes," I declared to him.

"So you have. I have waited years for this." I was taken aback and the others remained silent behind me.

"For me?"

"You are the first to arrive in a very long time. It has been my duty, my life, to protect the Urn and prepare the way for the faithful who come to revere Andraste. For years beyond counting I have been here, and shall I remain until my task is done and the Imperium has crumbled into the sea."

"Then…I would like to see the Urn." I told him, hesitantly. I didn't know if he would attack if he saw I was a threat. Instead, he said,

"You have come to honor Andraste, and you shall, if you prove yourself worthy."

"But I need them to cure a noble man." I protested.

"Still, you must prove yourself worthy. It is not my place to decide your worthiness. The Gauntlet does that. If you are found worthy, you will see the Urn and be allowed to take a small pinch of the ashes for yourself. If not…" He didn't need to finish that.

"Very well. I will enter this Gauntlet." I moved to take a step, but he held a hand up to stop me. **Does he not want me to go through with this?**

"Before you go, there is something I must ask. I see the path that led you here was not easy." **Oh shit. **"There is suffering in your past—your suffering and the suffering of others." I could tell Alistair and the others were giving me an odd look, but my throat was clenching too much for me to notice well. "By the time you reached Shianni, she was broken, brutalized. She lost her innocence because you were too late."

"But I—" I couldn't finish. And then I realized, he wasn't done.

"But that is not all. You could not fend off your attackers—" I looked away, too ashamed to look at him "—and they did the same to you. In the end it was all on you. You began to self-mutilate yourself and wanted to end your life. Still not a day goes by that you do not think about it." By now tears were streaming down my face as I realized he was right. Even as much as am becoming to get back to normal and have a growing love for Alistair, I still want to die.

"Yes." I admitted. "It was all my fault. I should have been faster. Stronger!" I finally looked up at him. "Yes I still do want to die. If… if maybe I died I'd pay for my mistakes. If I was no longer alive then I wouldn't have to live with the memory and shame—" I broke off, not being able to speak anymore. Alistair tried to put a hand on my shoulder for comfort, but I flinched away, my emotions being too great.

After that I could no longer be able to hear them all speak and the Guardian talk to the others. It was only when I felt a tap on my shoulder did I look back up.

"The way is open. Good luck, and may you find what you seek." I nodded and walked on without saying another word. The next room we came to had images of Andraste's past. They each gave us riddles, which I solved easily. That didn't surprise me. I was always good at them. Valendrien, my father, Shianni and Soris often though of riddles to tell me and I always go them within the first day, and never longer. Sometimes they thought I was a mage and read their minds.

When we walked through the next door, my throat clenched even tighter, if that be possible. There in front of me stood Shianni. Her smile bright as ever.

"Hey," she greeted. I was so unsure of she was just my imagination, a hoax, or whatever, that I just stood there. Seeing her, of an image of her, in front of me made me miss her so much more.

"Shianni?" I finally said after a very long pause. She giggled that very special giggle and I knew it was really her.

"Who else? It's good to see you, I suppose."

"Shianni I… I'm so sorry." Once again, I began crying. Shianni moved and placed her hands on my shoulders, and I knew she was no simple image.

"I know." She merely said. I looked up and into her eyes; the eyes I would give anything to see in person once again. "You have suffered so greatly. All your life you have wanted to so things alone because you thought that was the only way. But sometimes," she glanced at Alistair, "we need others to help us." She placed a hand on my cheek. It was so warm in this cold temple. "And there are people here to help you. You may want to die, but you can't. Look at all you'll leave behind. None of this was your fault. In time, both you and I will heal. And we have people around us to help us do so." Once again she glanced at Alistair. I did too and when I turned back she was gone and a pendent lay around my neck.

A part of me began to panic but then I hear her voice echo in my mind.

"_Keep going. And no matter how long it may be, we will see each other again."_ I closed my eyes and when I opened them I felt a bit stronger and more hopeful, believing what she had said was true. I whipped the tears from my eyes and moved on.

The shadow images of ourselves appeared in the next room. As we fought our own, we saw it was too difficult. No matter what move I made "I" would block it and mimic it. But then I had an idea. I was able to push my shadow away and shout to the others, "Switch!" They heard me, and Alistair took "_Morrigan_", Morrigan too mine, I took "_Zevran_", and Zevran had "_Alistair_". In the end we won, realizing we may be stronger to each other than we thought.

The next room was more… complicated, to say at least. We had to make a bridge using petals around a gaping hole in the ground. After a bit of arguing, Morrigan yelling at Alistair for being a stupid fool, and me nearly falling in (Which in turn scared the crap out of Alistair, which in turn kind of lightened my mood) we made a solid bridge to the other side.

"Maker's breath," sighed Alistair once we were across. "It seems Andraste favored the clever."

"That she did." I muttered and kept walking.

And then… We entered the last room. A line of fire stretched across the room with an altar in front of it. As I read the writing on it I realized we had to undress. Alistair and I blushed, but Morrigan and Zevran simply didn't care, although, we promised each other not to look at one another.

I walked to the fire, cautiously. Taking a leap of fate, I stepped through it. When I was on the other side I noticed flames upon my skin. I was about to panic, but saw they did not burn, nor leave a mark.

Then, suddenly, the Guardian appeared next to me.

"You have been through the trials of Andraste and proven yourself worthy. You may take a pinch of the ashes. May her name live in grace." Then there was a bright light and when I looked once again my armor was back in place, as was the others.

All together, we walked up the stairs where the ashes were held in a vase. Alistair was awe struck, Zevran was looking in unbelief and Morrigan… well, was being Morrigan and didn't really care. With careful ease I lifted the lid and pulled out a pouch I kept in my pack and took a pinch of the ashes. I looked back up at the others, their eyes, even Morrigan's, were gleaming. Smiling I said,

"Come on. Arl Eamon isn't getting any better, and we aren't getting any warmer."

**Yay! Another Mori chap. And now, finally, Alistair knows what happened. Makes you wonder how it'll turn out. Thank you for being patient once again. Things have been moving so fast for me. Right when I finish one thing I'm off to the next. But I will attempt to finish the story by then end of the year.**

**Oh, And HAPPY HALLOWEEN, my little gumdrops! I may be a day late, but still!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27  
~Now You Know~**

**Alistair **

Through one of the doors in Andraste's Temple, we found our way through a tunnel that lead to the other temple. We encountered no more cultists on our way back, but we had heard the roar of the dragon and the temple shake, which did not sound good. We walked quickly back to where we had left Genitive and, thank the Maker, he was still there, studying ancient writing on the wall.

"You've returned!" He said once he saw us approach. He had dark line under his eyes, so I assumed when we left him he did not sleep. "Did... did you find the ashes," he asked hesitantly. Morriana smiled and pulled out the pouch, handing it to him. Genitive let out the breath he had been holding. "This… the ashes of Andraste…" He stopped, unable to process what was going on.

"Genitive, we must go to Redcliff." I announced, breaking him of his thoughts. He looked up at me, coming out of his daze.

"Yes, yes. Of course. I will need help though." I nodded and allowed him to put his weight on me as we descended the stairs.

###

When we arrived back at camp both Morrigan and Wynne work one healing Genitive's foot and gave him a potion to drink to make him sleep a long while, to make up for the day he missed of sleep and to let the foot heal better. Then, still with some energy left, Wynne tried to heal Morriana's foot again.

As we had gone down the mountain, her foot could no longer hold her, and Morriana could not walk the rest of the way. Zevran offered to carry her, but I protested and let him help Genitive so I could help her. It wasn't a matter of jealousy, I knew Morriana wouldn't fall for his charm, but a matter of I just want to take care of her. Even more so since…I found out. I carried her back, easily since she pretty much weighed nothing, and we finally arrived back at camp, where Wynne, Sten, Orrick, Bodahn and Sandal were waiting for our return.

Morrigan and Wynne fought about healing Morriana's foot, since it wasn't healed all the way with magic. It was finally decided to let it be set with magic and the rest healed on its own. I did not think much of this, for they had to used magic to reset it, but when they did Morriana screamed in pain. I was quick at her side, assuring her that it would be okay.

A half hour of this felt like hours, and the bones had been rest and the pain numbed. They also gave her the same potion as Genitive and she fell asleep so fast it was as if someone had knocked her out. I carried her to her tent, took off her armor and set it aside where she could find it then went to my tent for sleep. We all did at this time, with Sten keeping watch. I was glad I was finally getting used to him, but I could not sleep that night.

I thought back on what the Guardian had said to Morriana. Since I met her I knew something was wrong. Duncan had told me that he needed to take her in order to save her life, but I never realized it was… _that _bad. But now that I looked at it… it was all there. _**She never wanted me to touch her; she was silent and refused to talk; was distrustful of humans; she didn't like to be close to someone; and then she had freaked when I was on her.**_

Now it made sense. But as I realized that…I began to cry. It was not that I was being weak, but that I couldn't believe something so horrible could have happened to her. I mean, I love her. I was not angry and disappointed at her for not telling me. I understood. I finally whipped the tears from my eyes and laid on my back, looking at the roof of my tent.

_**This I would need to talk to her about**_.

###

Morning came bright and early, but I smelled smoke along with it. That was what jolted me awake. I climbed out of my tent and looked above the trees to see smoke coming from the village.

"The dragon attacked last night." I jumped when I saw Genitive sitting on a long near our once-been fire.

"I never hear nor felt it," I said to him.

"No? You must have been exhausted then, with what all you did. I never heard it either. Some of your companions did, however."

"Why didn't it attack us?" I walked over and sat on a log next to him.

"Perhaps since we showed we were no threat she left us alone. Like a bee. If you leave them alone, they leave you alone." I nodded and looked back up at the smoke clouds rising above the trees.

###

We left an hour later, and, to Wynn's insistence, Morriana rode in the wagon. We walked all day and set up camp at night. Since Wynne (main me, but everyone assumed Wynn) argued to Morriana about not walking I carried her out of the wagon and set up her tent. Things now seemed to be tense between Morriana and me since I found out what happened. But I was not going to let her think I don't love her anymore.

As Sten took first watch, the rest of us went to sleep… save for Morriana and me. Orrick laid snoring loudly at her side and she watched the flames dance before her at their own tune. I walked easily, but loudly so she knew I was there, and sat next to her. I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.

"I know." _**That could mean a lot of things. **_I shook my head, waiting for her to tell me what she meant. "I know that you don't think it would work out and that now you know what I've been hiding. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just couldn't bare the shame and—"

"Mori," I stopped her, "is that honestly what you think?" She looked at me, a guilty look to her eyes. "No, I won't do that. And I'm not made that you didn't tell me." I moved my hand to cup her cheek. "I love you too much. I know now what happened—"

"But not the whole story." She interrupted.

"—Maybe I don't know the whole story, but if you want to tell me I will listen. If not I won't ask." She looked away for a moment and closed her eyes.

"The day it happened I was to be married." That struck me like a bolt but, instead of interrupting I let her continue. "It was arranged and I didn't know him. I didn't even want to marry him. I wanted to run away. But then, who would support my family? So I went on with it. Soris was getting married too. He didn't want to do it either, but understood the need. Duncan was also there. He was looking for a Grey warden at the time, and wanted to talk to our elder, Valendrien.

"Before it started there was a man with his friends, the arl of Denerim's son. He was tormenting us and trying to take some of our women. I tried to tell him off but Shianni knocked him out cold with a bottle before I had a chance to get to the good insults." She laughed at the memory, but then stopped.

"He came back later with more people and took Shianni, Soris's wife, others… and me. I tried to fight back but he knocked me out. I woke later in a room with the girls he took. She opened her eyes, and tears poured from them. I tried to put a hand to her shoulder but she shook her head, wanting me to wait for later. "The guards took them out while some stayed with me. I… I tried to fight back…but…" A sob escaped her, and she didn't even need to finish. Not even caring if she wanted me to or not I wrapped my arms around her as another sob came. "I killed them. I killed every man I came across. I didn't care who it was, I just wanted them all dead!

"When I found Shianni she was… they… I killed him, but he should have let him suffer. I wanted them all to suffer." She moved away to look me in the eyes. "Does that make me a bad person?" I shook my head and kissed her head.

"No. You were hurt and wanted revenge. I'm guessing that you all escaped and went home?"

"Yes, but then the guards came to arrest Soris and me but Duncan stepped in and recruited me. He couldn't with Soris, though. But…I didn't want to leave. All I could do was pack my things, say a quick good bye and leave. I left with, with this hole in me." she looked back at me, more tears coming. "But, that Guardian was right. I do want to die. But now… now I see what I will truly lose if I decide to…"

She scoffed to herself. She looked down and pulled up her sleeve, showing her cuts. Seeing them made my throat clench. "No more." She whispered. She cupped my cheeks and kissed me passionately. When we broke I looked into her bright eyes. "All because I had you to help; to guide me." my breathing stopped. It was the thought she was here, the thought that I was the one who helped her without even knowing it. _**She was alive because of me.**_

"I love you," I told her, brushing my lips against hers once again.

"I love you too." She whispered back to me. The tears from before stained her cheeks and her breathing hiccupped. "Stay with me tonight." She said quietly, as if she was hesitant about it. I looked at her to make sure it was what she wanted.

"Are… are you sure? Because… I mean…" she made a small sound, like a little laugh.

"Yes. I don't want to be afraid anymore, Alistair. And if I'm not… then I need you to help me." This made me smile. I planted one last kiss on her lips before I moved enough to gather her in my arms. "I will always help you." Standing I walked to my tent and laid her down on my bed roll. It was too late to get hers with us, so we settled most comfortably as we could.

She laid on her side, facing away from me and I curled up behind her, placing an arm over her side. I kissed the back of her neck and rested my head on the pillow. Her hand slid up to cover mine and she moved her head back to me on my chest. With her next to me, there was no stopping me from falling asleep.

**And we have another Alistair chapter! Hope you gumdrops liked it!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28  
~Nobel men's cure~**

**Morriana**

I was glad I was finally able to convince Wynn to let me walk on my own for a bit. And when I say "on my own" I mean walking with the help of Alistair constantly at my side, or someone else. But when it was with Alistair, I didn't complain. It was funny to watch him fuss over me. Zevran kept trying to flirt with me, but he knows I'm not taken in by him. So now it has just become a game. He'd flirt and tell stories to me; I would do so back, even though neither of us meant it. I explained it to Alistair, but he doesn't like it very much, even though he and Zevran have actually started getting along.

This was another thing I was glad for. The team was actually getting along with each other. Well, except for Morrigan and Alistair, but I think they've learned to tolerate each other now. Even Sten gets along well with everyone. Even me. He told me I was different from the others and had a greater respect for me. He eventually told me about why he had come to Ferelden and about losing his sword, that eventually lead to him slaying the family. I promised him I'd find it, but he didn't completely look convinced.

It seems that all of them have come out with something to tell me about them and I've made them promises. And when I make a promise I always keep it. I promised Leliana that I would help her get revenge on her old master, Marjoline, after we were ambushed. But she'd have to wait until we went back to Denerim. Morrigan discovered that her mother was using her to eventually take over her body, as she had seemed to have done before, which explained to stories of the "Many Daughters".

Anyway, as we walked I enjoyed the sounds of the nature around me until Alistair spoke.

"Maybe you should rest now," he suggested. I shook my head.

"Too confining," I argued. He sighed.

"Well, maybe you need to stop getting hurt." I looked at him with a lifted eyebrow. "I'm serious! I need to find you some sort of lucky amulet or something* so you'll stop getting hurt." I laughed.

"Come on, people get hurt every day."

"I know." He stopped and pulled me to him, placing a kiss on my cheek. "I just don't like it when your hurt." I smiled.

"I know. But I like the way you fuss over me." I kissed his nose. "You're so sweet." He smirked and stole a kiss on my lips before we moved forward. I saw Alistair look at the ashes, since he was carrying them at the moment, and he sighed.

"Do you think this'll work?" he asked quietly, as if he wasn't sure what to say.

"Yes. I have faith in the ashes. If not… I'm going to turn insane on someone." He laughed. "You think I won't do it? I have breaking points Alistair."

"So do I. And that will be when the world runs out of cheese." I broke out laughing. **Only he would say that. **

###

Eamon had not changed since we left, which we all were relieved at. Connor was in his room, and Tegan and Isolde stood in Eamon's room. I was also in there with Alistair and Wynne. Everyone else was in the rooms they had been given. I stood next to Alistair, clutching his hand in mine as we watched to mages pour the ashes onto their hands and chant. It seemed like forever when, suddenly, their hands began to glow a beautiful purple color.

The ashes suddenly flew off their hands like an unseen wind and carried them to Eamon. We all held our breath as they flew to him and floated down onto his skin. Suddenly he began to glow too and the ashes socked into his skin. A second later he jumped away, sitting up and breathing heavily. Isolde was instantly at his side, as was Tegan. Wynne and the other mage fell back exhausted and I couldn't blame them.

I looked up at Alistair as he watched Eamon being helped by his brother and wife. He then looked down at me with a bright smile. He leaned down and kissed my cheek but then didn't move up.

"Thank you," he whispered to me.

"Alistair!" Tegan called, causing him to jump back up. Tegan motioned him to come and Alistair shot me a nervous glance. I gave him a reassuring smile and cocked my head.

"I'll be outside." I slid my hand out of his and strolled out of the room

**Alistair**

After she left I walked to Eamon as he sat up, drinking a glass of water Isolde had gotten for him. When he stopped he was still panting. With a shake of his head he looked up at me.

"Alistair? Isolde? Tegan? What has happened?" He switched glances between us, a worried look over him. "Where's Connor?!" Isolde put a hand to his shoulder with a small sad smile.

"He lives, but many others are dead." She explains.

"Dead? But… how?" Tegan and I looked to each other, trying to see what we could do. In the end, however, we decided to tell him everything. When we finished it was an hour later and I doubted Morriana was still outside the room. Eamon looked up at me, after hearing all we've accomplished.

"So… you are to thank for my life?" He didn't sound surprised. He sounded… grateful. Honored, even. I nodded but then stopped.

"Well, it was me and Morriana, though mostly Morriana. She has been the one who has been leading us." I know it was my usual excuse when I didn't like taking all of the credit. But he nodded.

"I would like to see this Morriana person. Though not now. I must rest." I nodded and help Tegan lay him back now. Not a second after his head hit the pillow was he back to sleep. Only this time, he'd wake again. _**I hope**_. We all walked out of the room quietly where I found Morriana _was _still waiting for me. She had been sharpening one of her daggers when we came out, hopeful for new.

Although, in my opinion, I think she was just hopeful to hear something interesting so she didn't feel like she just wasted an hour waiting in a hall rather than doing something…. But that's just me.

Anyway, we told her what had done and said. But now we needed to find out what we have to do for later on.

"It's late now and we're all tired. What we need to do is get rest, same as Eamon, and let ourselves heal."

"She is right," Tegan agreed. "You both know where your rooms are. I will see you in the morning." Tegan bowed his head and walked off. Isolde walked away without a word, which I found odd. _**I mean what? No "oh hey thanks for saving my husband's life. I don't know what would have happened without you guys" or at least something like that.**_

Morriana wrapped her hand around my neck and pulled me down to her, pressing her lips to mine.

"Come, I need a good night's rest, as does my leg." I smirked and knocked her knees with my hand to hold her up. I knew she wanted me to put her down but one, this was just too fun; and two, I knew her ankle was still bothering her so I guess she'd just have to do.

I carried her to my room and set her gently on the bed. Everyone would be expecting us to be in separate rooms, but since the Urn, I just don't like leaving her alone. I helped her out of her armor and then undid mine. Since we had bathed this morning ( not together, of course!) and fixed our armor to look appropriate, not to mention the weather was still cold, we didn't really smell too bad. _**Or we just got used to our own sent. **_

As I set my things in order I looked to her sitting on the bed. She was in one of her tunics that was actually baggy, but she said she preferred them, and trousers. Woman clothing is too "tightening" on her, as she explained. I walked to her. She moved up the bed so she laid with her head on the pillows. I jumped up and laid next to her. And, for a moment, we were both content to just lay there, enjoying the others company and silence.

After a while I felt a tug on my tunic and smirked as she pulled my side so I would roll over her. And when I realized that was what she intended, like the night I had laid on her while we became passionate, I stopped. She gave me a confused look but I smiled sadly and moved hair away from her beautiful face.

"I don't want to hurt you again." I whispered to her.

"But… I want to do this. I don't want to be afraid anymore." She looked into my eyes and I felt my entire being melt. "I want to be able to feel _you_ one me and not _him. _I want to be able to know it's _your _touch; _your _kiss; _your _body against mine. I want to feel you and know it's really just you and not have those awful memories." Tears brimmed her eyes but she blinked them away. "I want this. This is how I am going to get better. You promised me you'd help me. Well… this is the way to do it." I looked deep into those shinning lights she calls eyes. This is what she wanted… so be it.

I moved so I hovered over her. She gasped as she saw me above her, most likely a memory reoccurring. So I began to kiss her cheek and she moaned. Now I knew that she knew it was me. When I moved back up she refused and pulled me back down to her to kiss her. And the longer we kissed, the more passionate it became. Without even think I moved downward until my body touched her. She gasped again, only this wasn't the time of gasp she had when she had the memory.

This was the gasp that told me she was enjoying this.

That lifted my spirit enough to go back to kissing her cheek, then down to her neck. She moaned as I did this. But then that moan turned into a yawn. So that was my cue to stop. She looked disappointed, but the tiredness in her eyes told me it had to be done. So I lifted the covers over us and let her snuggle into my chest. My arms wrapped around her and, as always, I enjoyed the feel of her with me. And then a thought popped into my head.

_**We had just taken a step further.**_

**Please don't kill me! I know some fans will be wanting them to be more intimate, but not too soon. But I will let the hint that it just may BE soon indeed! I honestly don't know I haven't gotten that far yet….**

**Anyway, awesome reviews my gumdrops!**

(*) a suggestion made by HikariYagami22. Hope you don't mine me using it!


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29  
~Broken ice~**

**Alistair**

We stayed two weeks in the Redcliff castle to help to make sure Eamon was fine. And he was. Over that period of a week his strength grew and he no longer needed so much rest. Plus, our companions were enjoying their time off. Morriana's leg finally healed so she could walk without limping now and everyone seemed to be rebuilding their strength.

Also, in those two weeks Ferelden's natural weather kicked in and winter was strait on. By the time the first week was finished snow had begun to fall and the water turned to ice. The ice crystals clung to the wall forming winter's portrait wherever we went.

As Eamon got better he had announced that he would through a party for the survival of both him and Redcliff and to thank us Grey Warden's for all we did. But that wouldn't for a few more days, so there was time to prepare.

I woke early this morning with Mori wrapped in my arms. I liked waking first because it gave me the chance to watch her sleep. The look she had as she slept took my breath away. I laid on my back with her on my chest. I listened to her breathing a moment then decided to wake her. It was morning and our Grey Warden hunger would soon set in. So I gently shook her awake. Her eyes slowly opened and she yawned this cute little yawn, like always when she wakes.

"Good morning," I tell her. She smiles and kisses my nose.

"Good morning."

"Shall we get ready for breakfast?" I asked. She pouted.

"No! I want to sleep!" She pulled the covers over her head and snuggled back into my chest.

"No, Mori. We need to get up. Eamon should be waiting for us. I heard her sigh and she removed the covers. She stood from the bed and rolled her shoulders, letting them crake. I stood too and did the same. When she looked at me for a moment, I took the hint and turned so she could dress. She did the same for me and once we were ready we headed out to see who else was up.

###

**Morriana**

Breakfast went by fast, with only Alistair, Orrick, Wynne, and I there. Eamon, Isolde and Tegan had eaten earlier and everyone else already had or was still asleep. Once we were done Wynne stated she had some things to tend to and went on. The second she left Tegan walked in.

"Ah, Alistair. Morriana. I see you have already eaten?" We nodded. "Good. My brother sent me to collect you. I don't know why, but he said he needed to talk to you."

"On it." Alistair agreed and we followed Tegan to where Eamon stood in his great hall. Isolde sat in a chair in the corner with Connor in her lap. Isolde looked years younger and refreshed since all this ended. It seemed to brighten Eamon that his wife was doing much better, which in turn brighten Alistair.

Anyway as we walked in Eamon turned to us, a serious look to his face. With a glance to Isolde she stood with Connor in her arms, claiming she'd see them later.

"You called for us, Eamon?" I asked him as Isolde left.

"Yes. I wish to thank you, wardens. You not only saved my life but kept my family safe as well. I am in your debt."

"Your debt may be repaid in helping us in the Blight." I told him. "I need no other reward than that." Eamon looked as though he would have pretested, but didn't.

"I see. For now, we must talk of Loghain." At the sound of his name Alistair stiffens beside me. "Loghain instigates a civil war, though the darkspawn are on our very doorstep. I know him. He had been a sensible man who never desired power."

"I was there when he announced he was taking control of the throne, Eamon. He is mad with ambition, I tell you." Tegan proclaimed.

"Indeed. Mad enough to kill Calian, nearly kill me and destroy my lands. Whatever happened to him, Loghain must be stopped. We can scarce afford to fight this war to its bitter end."

"But you can unite the nobility against Loghain, can't you? I asked, knowing I pretty much new as much as a child when it came to politics. **I mean, I'm an elf. Humans mad it very clear we were not meant for such positions.**

"I could unit those opposing Loghain, yes. But not all oppose him. He has some very powerful allies. We have no time to wager a campaign against him. Someone must surrender if Ferelden will have any chance to fight this war."

"But once everyone's learned what he's done…"

"I will spread word of Loghain's treachery, both here and against the king. But it will be a claim made without proof. Those claims will give Loghain's allies pause, but we must combine it with a challenge Loghain cannot ignore. We need someone with a stronger claim to the throne than Loghain's daughter, the queen." Alistair once again stiffened beside me and even though I no nothing of politics, I knew what was coming up.

"Are you referring to Alistair, brother? Are you certain?"

"I would not propose such a thing is we had an alternative, but the unthinkable has occurred."

"You… you intend to put Alistair forward as king?" I asked, hesitantly.

Tegan and I have a claim through marriage, but being opportunists seems no better than Loghain. Alistair's claim is by blood."

"And what about me?!" Alistair interrupted. Does anyone care what I want?"

"You have a responsibility, Alistair. You know if Loghain wins, I would have to support him for the sake of Ferelden. Is that what you want?"

"I… no my lord."

"Good. Now then… Alistair? Where are you going?" I watched as Alistair turned on his heel and walked out the door.

"Alistair!" I called out to him. He ignored me and kept going.

"Give him time. This is all coming quickly. He only needs to blow off steam." I considered what he said for a moment. Then, angrily, I turned to him. I knew all the things Alistair told me about his past. How he slept in the stables. Why he was sent to the chantry. And now I see why Alistair must be angry.

He was a tool.

He was a tool to be put in a shed until he was to be used. I knew that had they known Alistair would have been in line for the throne he would have been treated differently. Like he was wanted. So, then, what right did Eamon had to say that he knew what was best for Alistair.

"How do you know what he needs." I said stiffly to him. Before he could say anything—**not that I care right now—**I took off after Alistair. I followed him through my warden senses and when I came to the door that lead outside, and noticed a cloak from a coatrack was missing, I made my assumption he had took off outside. Wasting no time on a coat, I went outside and though I was going to turn into pure ice the moment I stepped outside. I tried to ignore it as I saw Alistair's figure walking across the bridge.

I followed hurriedly, but carefully due to the fact most of the ground was frozen. I repeatedly called out to him, but he kept on walking. He walked on to the forest area near the castle and carefully walked across a frozen pond. To the other side. I stopped in front of the pond, small snowflakes sticking to my clothing and eyelashes, and huffed as I continued to follow.

"Ali—" I was cut off my a horrible cracking noise and the piercing of knives all over my body and heard what might have been my scream until I was no longer able to breath. It took me only a half a second to realize just what happened.

I had broken through the ice. I panicked and somehow found my way back to the surface. It did not last long until the water pulled me back down to keep me in its embrace. My whole body was numb but pained at the same time. Time slowed and I could no longer breathe. Suddenly I was lifted out of the water and onto the ice.

Alistair flipped me over and removed the cloak he was wearing to cover me. I struggled for breath, and each breath I took stung my lungs. Alistair gathered me in his arms, whispering comforting word I could only slightly hear. I felt like everything was numb. My sight was blurry, I felt nothing among my skin, and I barley could hear. I hardly noticed Alistair stand and ran back to the castle.

###

I laid on the bed Alistair and I shared, laying my head on his chest as he laid to my right and Leliana laid to my left, writing a song, as she apparently so often liked to do during her free time. Morrigan sat next to the fire, shaking her head.

"And so you decided to chase the fool across a fragile pond?" Morrigan teased. "Makes me know now who the real fool is."

"Hey, she didn't know and it's my fault anyway," Alistair snapped at her, then turned to a soft expression to me. "And I am sorry for acting like such a child." I giggled and moved to kiss his lips.

"You are too cute to be mad at Alistair." Morrigan gave a groan in disgust and stood.

"Make sure she rests. And that means do nothing physical." Both Alistair and I blushed as she left the room. Leliana left not long after, agreeing I needed to rest. We would be leaving soon, after all. I snuggled into Alistair, melting into him. His strong, warm arms wrapped around me.

"If you get sick from this, I swear to the Maker," Alistair said, adding a laugh. I leaned up and kissed him passionately.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" I asked innocently. He smirks and pulls me to him, kissing me once again.

"Both," he whispers. I giggle and snuggle back into him, resting my head on his chest. It wasn't long before he fell asleep. I was going to but then I began thinking. **How would things turn out if he became king? **I have known that past kings have had whores, but I know that is something that Alistair would never do to me or him. I could not be queen, because the public would not allow it. If he became king, there would be no more of _us _and only him and whoever he was to marry.

My heart ached as I thought on this. I've already had so much taken from me. Why am I not allowed to have this one thing that makes me happy? I gazed up to his peaceful, sleeping face. **Alistair would not hurt me. He told me this before. **I knew Alistair was becoming more a man now. I smiled.

**We'll find a way.**


	30. Chapter 30

**No I'm not dead and expect for chapters to come faster now!  
I hope...**

**Rated M for mature features!**

**Yes, yes, the moment we've been waiting for. Made just for the 30th chap! **

**Chapter 30** **~Late night parties~**

**Morriana**

Because of both the arl's and Redcliff's recovery a party was to be held at the castle. Leliana finally talked me into wearing a dress, a dark blue gown with sleeves coming down to my elbows and the hem nearly covering my toes, and her version of "shoes", black flats that mostly hide beneath my dress. I could tell it was once of Isolde's, but said nothing of it. Alistair borrowed a light blue tunic that went with black pants from Tegan. To me, blue wasn't honestly his color. But it would have to do. The one thing that made me jealous was that he was able to wear his boots, cleaned of course. Orrick was even excited for his part. Although, on my part I suspected he thought it was just a good time to snatch some free food.

Morrigan refused the party and flew off as a bird before Leliana's begging could reach her.

**_The lucky ones._**

Sten too did not wish to go. And finally, it was Zevran who said yes, agreeing to wear an emerald green tunic and black pants that matched Alistair's.

The whole village was invited, or what was left of it. It was not often I agreed to go out in crowds (My wedding was one acceptation...well, sort of.). _"Someone better be dead"_ my reply came at the times my father wanted me to wear a dress which usually got me in trouble but was also sometimes right. Anyway, Eamon's ballroom was huge! It was a wonder how I hadn't seen it when we had first arrived here. Everyone would be arriving at dusk, as was the Arl's idea of a "late night party" having it last from dusk till dawn. So, before all the guest could arrive, we helped set up. Tables, chairs, and the food were all set up in the back, the instruments and dancing up front.

I was fun to watch Leliana be enthusiastic about a fancy party, but I let her off easy since she _was _Orlesian and saw _was _a bard. But it was still funny to watch her be all "Child hyper" with the musicians who came early to set up.

The guests arrived around dusk, as planned. Seeing all the people that kept coming made me very uncomfortable, but Alistair noticed my anxious glances at all the people and took my hand, giving it a squeeze in comfort. When I looked at him he gave me a reassuring smile and I couldn't help but feel better.

We took our seats near the end of the table where Tegan, Eamon and Isolde sat. Connor had been sent to bed soon before the party began, so he was not there. Well, I had every intension that he really was, but we just weren't seeing him. That's something I'd do, anyway.

The feast was amazing. There were many foods I hadn't recognized that they didn't have in the Alienage and other I did recognize. Alistair had me try a few I didn't know, and it was hard to tell which my new favorite was. It seemed that each time I'd try something new, it was better than what came before. And when desert came, it was practically the same. There were some tarts and cakes that we'd had in the Alienage, but much sweeter. Others were completely new to me. Alistair showed me his favorites that also became my favorites, among others.

I noticed Eamon gazing at us from time to time as Alistair, literally, fed me something, and could tell his obvious dislike of our relationship. Not that we cared. Ever since Alistair's outburst they hadn't talked much about the throne, but the had _talked _at least.

It was hours, or felt as much, when everyone was done eating, apparently at the same time, that everyone went onto the floor to dance. They started off with something slow, letting the people settle down the food a bit before they played a fast one. I, for one, wasn't used to dancing, especially in big crowds, so I remained seated. I watched as the people whipped around, colors dancing and swooping as they moved like colored flashes. They allowed Leliana a few songs, not that anyone minded, seeing how they all loved the songs she chose.

Eamon literally swept Isolde off her feet, literally and figuratively, during the next song. Alistair remained seated at my side, claiming he didn't want to leave me alone when I felt so uncomfortable with so many people. Eventually, I allowed Alistair to take me onto the floor and dance. The first was to a song that proclaimed moves. It was one I knew by heart, as I've hear it many times at the parties in the Alienage. This song was one of those songs that was so much more fun when you had someone to dance with.

When that song ended it was followed by a slower song. There was no singing in this one, it was just instrumental, even though it did have words. The song made my throat clench when it started because I knew it. The version that did have lyrics . . . my mother sang to me every night as a child before I went to sleep. Alistair took me into his arms to dance and I wrapped my arms around his neck, laying my head against his chest as we swayed. I suppose Alistair developed a sense to which he knew when I was upset now. But he said nothing.

As the notes went by I was killing myself inside. I'd forgotten the words to my mothers song. I hummed to it, however. wishing I knew the lyrics once again. Perhaps I had actually blocked out the words because it hurt too much to remember. I could never tell. My father never sang to me, not that he was bad. But I think it hurt him too much.

I glanced back up at Alistair, who seemed zoned out, staring at a wall behind us. I laid my head back on his chest and thought to myself. I thought on what might happened should Alistair be kind. We'd no longer be together, he'd no longer be a Grey Warden (except for the fact of the taint but not the cause) and we'd be destined to live alone. Well, he'd marry a noble's daughter for a queen. If Alistair was king we'd loose each other for good. If he wasn't the queen could keep the throne. I'd let her keep it, to be honest. I mean, this is about Loghain, so how must Alistair fit into this, besides being the kings son?

And then, there was the archdemon. Alistair didn't know it, but I've been having nightmare after nightmare about the archdemon, where Alistair would be fighting it and he'd be ripped apart and I couldn't stop it because I couldn't get to him. He'd die and it'd be all my fault. This thought made me hold onto him tighter, which in turn he returned the gesture.

But, yet, there was still a chance we'd both survive and live on together. But this was as likely as the others. A good chance this could happen and a poor chance. And yet, there was still a chance. But I couldn't let the thought go that I'd loose his.

I blew breath in annoyance and irritation and thought of a question I hadn't thought since I was young.

**Mom, would you be proud of me?**

I shook the question off, but I could help but wonder what she'd answer. As I thought of all this I came to one conclusion: I _cant_ lose Alistair. Just the thought of it makes me sick. I glanced back up at Alistair and this time, instead of looking off, his gaze met mine. As I stared into his eyes I knew what I had to do. I pulled his head down so that I could whisper something in his ear. When I pushed him back away I saw a slight blush on his lips, but didn't look embarrassed otherwise. **Hmm, perhaps I'm not the only one whose thought about this. **

"Are you sure?" He asked, his voice blending with the music so much I could barely hear him. I smiled and he got his answer. He took a quick glance around to ensure no one was looking specifically at us, the he took my hand and lead me out of the room.

**Alistair**

The door closed behind us and the lock clicked. We left no room for words before our lips met passionately. We didn't need to. We both knew what the other as thinking. Our hands were all over each other. I untied the laces to her dress and let it pool to the floor. She pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside. Finally I finally got a look at her. Her skin glowed in the candle light that I had left lit before coming down to the party. Her ample breasts were covered by the black corset she'd worn under the dress and her white underwear. Maker, she was beautiful. She came closer with her hands on my chest, and our lips met again. As we kissed I moved us towards the bed.

Once her knees his the mattress, I laid her down. She moved upward on the bed, and I quickly followed. I kissed her neck, receiving a satisfied moan from her. So far, nothing that mad her seem afraid of me. I moved downward onto her breasts until I reached the corset. I lifted myself upward so I could look at her. I could see lust her eyes, but also a small tint of fear. Slowly I slid my hand behind her and lifted her, her body nearly touching mine. I slipped the other hand behind her and pulled the strings until it finally came loose. She sat up and yanked it up, making her breasts fully visible. There was a moment I froze, taken in by the lust and love I felt towards her, and my body could feel it too.

She grabbed my head and pulled me down for another kiss, letting our bodies meet. I heard her sharp intake of breath and broke the kiss. She gently stroke my cheek a moment, and smiled.

"No longer will I be afraid." She said, her voice low, yet I heard her so clearly. "From now on I will only feel you with me." No more needed to be said.

The night might have been for Eamon and Redcliff, but at the moment, the night was ours.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31  
~The Golem in Honnleath~**

**Alistair**

My eyes opened slowly open as sunlight pours into the room. I was lying on my back, one arm over my stomach, the other outstretched. And on my outstretched arm laid Morriana, curled up next to me, still asleep. The covers only laid at our hips, so her torso was exposed to me. Even though I got a good look at her last night, I still didn't mind now. She lay in a deep sleep, with some strands of hair still over her face. Slowly and gently, I moved my hand to brush away the strands. Morriana suddenly woke and slapped my hand away, but she was still half asleep to notice it was merely me.

"Mori?" I said quietly. It was already time to wake, even though I didn't want to, but we did have to. Else everyone would know what happened.

"Something touched my cheek." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. When she finally looked at me I waved my hand in front of her.

"I know. Me." She huffed a laugh.

"I'm sorry." She took my hand and rested it on her cheek. After a silent moment I moved closer, brushing my lips with hers.

"You know, according to all the sisters in the monastery, I should have been struck by lightning by now." She giggled.

"Is that so?" I smiled.

"Yep! Lightning first, then the end of civilization as we know it." I chuckled.

"Maker, you bad man." We both laughed and I pulled her closer, letting out bodies touch.

"You do realize the rest of our little party is going to talk, right? They do that."

"Well, the first smart comment I hear, I feed to the darkspawn."

"See." I kissed her cheek, then lips. "This is why I love you." I kissed her again, and she moved while pulling my so that she was now on her back I was lying over her. I continued to kiss her, then moving back down to her neck. I came closer to her breasts, but she put her hands on my head to make me look at her.

"Alistair . . . where do we even go from here?" She asks, concern in her eyes as we move onto a serious question. I think a moment. To be honest, I don't even know how to answer.

"I don't know. Eamon wants to make me king, but there's also the Blight to battle. And we're both Grey Wardens, so we'll always have duties with them. And this is even if we survive." She flinches at the last idea. "But I don't plan on dying, Mori. And if I can make sure you don't either then I will. And, there's the possibility I may not even win the throne. I mean, Anora can keep it. Its Loghain we want." Morriana pushes herself up to kiss me.

"And it's not like _I _plan on giving you away, anyway." She replies.

"Good. I was afraid you were getting tired of me." She kiss me gain.

"I could never. We just need to let the others know that."

"Oh, they will in time." She laid back down, and I didn't give her a chance to speak before my lips were back on hers.

###

After a few more days, and a few more passionate nights with Morriana, in Redcliff we finally set out to gather our next allies: the dwarves of Orzammar. It was more of a last minute decision, since we figured we'd get to the elves first. But after a while of debate and other ideas this one stuck. So, here we were, walking down the path to Orzammar.

Of course, it wasn't so bad. Morriana and I walked hand in hand as we traveled. The night in Redcliff . . . I could barely describe how I felt. As we had gone on, memories of Morriana's . . ."past" resurfaced. We'd almost didn't do it, but she forced down her anger and we made love.

Even though as much of a chantry boy I was and how much Morriana was affected by what happened to her, I had to say: I didn't know Morriana could be so dominate. Although, I hadn't realized this the first time, because that was all me. But, I still hadn't known, leader of the group or not.

Anyway, some of Morriana's fear is gone, thank the Maker. So now we must travel north, blast the cold. I mean, it's cold in the north, its cold in the south . . . damn Ferelden weather. Always choosing the worst weather at the worst time.

It was about noon when we saw someone at a small camp sight. Curios, Morriana let go of my hand and walked up to him. After I realized that everyone decided now would be a good time for a break, I walked a bit closer to where Mori was talking to the man who must have set up the camp. I watched them closely, cautious to if he'd hurt her. I then saw him hand her something, but I wasn't in good view to know what it was, so I finally went over there.

"And what do you want for it?" Mori said as I came closer then realized what exactly she had: a control rod. Often used on golems.

"Nothing," the man replied, shaking his head. "I just want to get rid of it." Morriana nodded. "Now I need to go find my . . . uh," he glanced at Morriana's ears, completely visible with her hair pulled back. "Servants." Morriana caught his meaning of "servants" and her eyes narrowed. But she said nothing of it. She thanked him for his time and then we parted ways as he left to find his servants and his lost mule.

"So what was that about and why do you have a control rod?" I asked when we reached everybody.

"Apparently this control rod can control a golem in this village called Honnleath." She quickly jogged over to Bodahn's wagon and took out her map. By now everyone was sitting and eating a snack while they waited on Mori. "And from what he told me," she continued looking over the map as I stood beside her. "Honnleath should be here." She pointed to a spot on the map, just west of Lake Calenhad." She took out her quill and ink and marked the spot on the map, then rolled it up. "It'll take us a day at most, and three more to reach Orzammar.

"That seems okay, I suppose." _**So we're getting a golem now? What next? Will we have an ogre on our side? . . . Actually, that would be pretty cool.**_

"Yeah. Come on, rest." She sat down on the side of the rode, in the grass waving by the wind. I smiled and sat down next to her, taking off my pack and fishing out my water and two apples for us.

###

**Morriana**

As we approached the village of Honnleath I noticed an increase in the smell of smoke, more than a village should have. Since I have recently been able to scene the darkspwn, I felt the taint's pull, plus, Orrick's growling made it plainly obvious that enemies were near. Bodahn stayed far onto the side of the road, away from the village and I convinced Wynne to stay with them for protection.

We followed along the path leading into the village and jumped into our battle stances when movement approached. When we noticed it was only villagers we relaxed but then pulled out our weapons out of our sheathes when we saw two darkspwn at their heels. As one tried to take a swing at a woman trying to get away I threw my dagger at its throat and Morrigan froze at the last.

Walking cautiously up to the village, we split up when we saw darkspawn all over the place, most likely being here for some time. Taking down any darkspawn that lay in my wake, my vision became red with adrenaline and blood. Their blood splattered onto my armor as I cut into them. I danced around one that tried to come behind me and my blades dug into its back. After more moments of fighting, all the darkspawn were dead and we were all stood in the village center. That was where the golem stood.

It was still, its arms and face reaching up to the sky. I walked slowly up to it, but the others remained away. It was a gleaming grey color with beautiful crystals covering it. No weathering seemed to have damaged it. It looks as though it could have been there for years, and yet it looked new as ever. But one thing was sure: I could feel the pulse of magic rushing off it.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled out the rod and held it toward the golem.

"Dulif gar!" I shouted. I felt no wave of energy and noticed the golem still remaining in its spot, unchanged. I said it again, and nothing happened.

"Maybe it's broken?" I jumped as Zevran appeared at me side with his suggestion. I shook my head, but looked it over anyway.

"It doesn't seem so." Alistair finally stepped forward.

"Perhaps if we find someone here who knows well of this golem then maybe they can get it to work." I nodded and turned to everyone.

"Split up," I told them. "See if you can find any survivors or anything useful." They nodded and went their separate ways.

As I looked around I found a key on a dead body, and my curiosity demanded, and threatened to kill me if I didn't, to look around to see where it went. Eventually I found it and it unlocked a chest near a house. I pulled out a nice looking dagger and slid it into my belt, making a mental note to have it enchanted later, as I had done with everyone's blades, or bows in Leliana's case. I made sure everyone had at least one enchanted blade on them, including Wynne and Morrigan, before we left Redcliff. Eamon had been very sincere about it. Bit since I had been busy with that I had not have time to get one of my own, so this was perfect.

I was about to keep looking around, but then I heard someone call my name.

"Morriana! We found something!" I placed the voice as Leliana's and ran back to where I had last seen everyone. I found her and the others at a door to the right of where the golem was.

"What is it? I asked. Zevran appeared out of nowhere next to Leliana, who jumped back in fright.

"Well," she started, giving an angry glace at Zevran, who simply smiled innocently. "There is a passage down here. I had heard some sounds of the darkspawn but also of some people talking." I nodded.

"Then let's go." I went first with Orrick at my side and the rest following. It was quiet fir some time until we ran into more darkspawn around some sort of library. They were not hard to fell, and the further we went on the more darkspawn we came across. I also found some crystals along the way, realizing they must belong to the golem, so I snatched them and stuffed them into my pack.

Eventually, we came across a room with a barrier with people on one side, and darkspawn trying to break through to the people. The darkspawn were much too focused on trying to break through so they didn't notice us. It seemed like the perfect time for a sneak attack. That is, until a woman saw us and gasped, causing the gunlock emissary to turn and see us, which in turn made the rest see us. **So much for a sneak attack . . . **So, I threw my dagger at the emissary's throat before it could cast anymore spells, Morrigan was visibly irritated by all the darkspawn and sent a wave of flames at all the darkspawn before the rest could manage to get their weapons out. Morrigan fell to a knee and I laid a hand on her shoulder, giving her a thankful smile. Wynne came to help her, but Morrigan waved her away and stood, unsteady at first.

"Show-off." I japed at her. I saw her lips turn and she let out s huff of laughter. She then went over to lead against a wall as we went off to speak to the people behind the barrier.

"By the Maker, we're saved!" A woman cried. A man stepped forward, clearly in charge. His hair was a blond color, (and I'm just going on an assumption here, due to the fact the barrier is a glowing purple color) his shoulder broad, and a stern, but thankful and relived, look to his face.

"You wouldn't happen to be the Arl's men, would you? He looked us over, then I think decided not. "Who sent you?"

"Nobody," I shook my head. "I bought a control rod from a merchant. He told me about this place—"

"Control rod?" he interrupted, at first contused, then understood and his facial featured turn to angry. "Oh. You're here for Shale." He took a step back and help up his palm towards the barrier. His hands began to glow and then the barrier turned to a light golden color. Whatever was left of the villagers ran out passed us but he remained, gesturing me to follow him. I was cautious about approaching the barrier, but once I was certain that I would knock into it, I went through, with the others following.

The man, Matthias, explained to us about how the golem had been his father's for years until one day it suddenly killed him and froze in that same position it is now. His mother sold the rod in hopes of it never being used again. At the moment, we were apparently in Matthias's father's cellar.

"If you give me the correct phase to the golem, he'd leave this village, but I also need him. We are in the middle of a Blight and its strength would be useful." I explained. He stayed silent for a moment then is features turned to fear and worry.

"I'll give you the correct phase if you do something for me. My daughter, Amalia, ran deeper into the cellar when the darkspawn appeared down here. I don't know how she got past my father's defenses, but I tried sending someone to get her, but I haven't hear anything from him. I think he must have died from whatever's down there. Please, you must help her." I put a hand to his shoulder and smiled.

"I would even if I didn't need a reason to. I will find your daughter and bring her back safely." Matthias almost cried in relief, but I quieted him. "Zevran, Wynne and Alistair, with me. Everyone else, please go help the villagers." The nodded and we split up.

The tunnels were dark, though not enough to need light. In in some places I found more of those crystals and packed them away. It wasn't until we were further in that we suddenly hear a screech that sent my heart beating so fast I thought I might give out.

"Maker's breath, what was that?!" I shouted.

"It sounded like a shade, like some of the ones we fought in the Tower." I nodded. Now that I knew what we were against, I calmed a bit. A few more feet in and two shade leapt up from the ground. They were not hard to fell, but Alistair did receive a bad wound on his sword are, but it was nothing Wynne couldn't fix with a little magic, though she said it would be best to check it again later in case I reopens.

When we finally walked into some sort of room three more shades appeared along with a greater shade. The three lesser ones were easy to kill, but this greater shade . . . Well, it took some time and left Wynne drained of magic.

But luckily we didn't need it now.

We walked into another room were we found a young girl, most likely Amalia, talking with a small cat.

"Amalia?" I called out. The girl looked up and stood with a smile.

"Oh look. More people." Amalia said, happily while standing. "Have you come to play? We're playing a guessing game."

"We?" Wynne asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes. Me and kitty."

"Kitty?" I shook my head and looked at the cat, then back to her.

"If you're not going to play, you should go. Kitty finds you distracting." I shake my head. **Right. The cat finds **_**me**_** distracting.**

"Come on, Amalia, your father is waiting for you."

"But I can't leave. Kitty says she can't come and I'm not leaving her. She'll be lonely."

"You're so kind, Amalia." I jumped back when I realized the cat spoke, and its eyes gleamed a demonic purple color. "I would miss you dearly if you left."

"Amalia, step away from the cat Amalia! Now!" Alistair shouted.

"No! Leave me alone!" Amalia shouts back.

"Nothing you say will convince Amalia to go with you. She loves only me now. I am her friend while you are just a stranger." "Kitty" added. I took a step forward.

"We're not leaving without the girl?"

"And I am not giving up the girl. I've been bound to this chamber for decades, cut off from all contact. It has been maddening. Release me mortal, and let me have the girl. Let us return to her father and leave this place forever."

"You mean possess her?" Alistair inquires.

"That's such a crude way of putting it." **Crude but true.** "I do not wish to harm Amalia. I merely want to see your world through her eyes. Is that so wrong?" I thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Very well, I'll free you, and you may have the girl."

"Thank you! You are very gracious." Kitty then explains to me what must be done, and I listen closely. Once I understand what must be done, I begin to walk towards the tiles that have flames on them, only to be pulled back by Alistair.

"Are you insane?!" Alistair snapped. I look at him. "You can't free a demon."

"I can and I will." I reply.

"Ah, making deals with demons." Zevran chimes. "So fun." I chuckle.

"No, I won't let you do this."

"Very well." I put my hands to my hips. "Zevran, if he tries to stop me, hold him back."

"With rope, I assume?" Zevran gives me a wicked smile and I shrug.

Many moving tiles and burn marks on my hands and arms later, I finally completed the puzzle. Maker did bless me with that skill. The barrier in the doorway faded to a light gleam and I walked back the "Kitty". She groaned and stretched.

"The energy! I can feel it fading! Oh, I have forgotten what it feels like. I can't wait to see what it is like outside."

"To bad you won't get the chance." Kitty suddenly freezes and looks at me.

"What?"

"I said I'd free you. But I never said I'd let you live." I smirk. Kitty hisses at me and arches her back.

"Trickery! How dare you! No, the girl is mine." Amalia seemed to have come off from whatever spell Kitty put on her or something and stands, backing away.

"No, Kitty! I won't let you inside me! I won't!" Amalia runs to me and I hide her behind me, burying her face into my back. Kitty then turns into a familiar demon I say in the Tower, and sends four undead creatures on us, then suddenly disappearing. Wynne quickly drank a lyrium potion and froze the first; Zevran danced around another and stabbed from behind; Alistair bashed his shield into a third and then stabbed its chest when it was on the ground. I threw my dagger at the last, letting it fall quickly.

Amalia looked out from behind me, tears running down her face. I turn to her and whip them away.

"It's okay, Amalia, you're safe." Of course, that is until I was thrown back by some unseen force. I could hear Amalia's scream as my back his the ground, knocking the wind out of me. The demon appeared in front of me and reached down then grabs my throat. With inhuman strength, the demon lifted me in the air by my throat. I struggled to make her let go of me, but my air way was failing fast. My vision was blurring and darkening every second.

"You dare trick a demon. You mortals think yourselves so smart. Too bad your trickery will be the death of you—" Suddenly a sword pierces through the demon. She gages and finally releases me. I fall to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Arms suddenly encircle around me and hold me.

"Alistair—" I gasp out. Alistair merely shushes me, telling me to just breathe. I hear tell the others something, but I was more focused on getting my breathing back to normal. After a few minutes, my breathing is normal again. I look around and noticed nobody else is here.

"You sent everyone away?" I asked Alistair. He nods.

"Their taking Amalia back to her father." I nod and straiten, but he refuses to let go. "Mori . . ." Alistair looks down in shame. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I thought . . . you were really going to free the demon and let it have the girl. I'm so sorry—" I break him off with a forceful kiss, which he returns. Breaking the kiss, I smile.

"I don't know," I tease. "You may still have my acceptance of your apology." He smiles.

"Then I'll work hard to earn it." We kiss again before he helps me up, giving a sad look to the red marks on my neck, then we make our way back to everyone. Matthias was waiting for us when we got there, but our companions were nowhere to be seen.

"Thank you for rescuing her. I was so scared. But you found her. Matthias wraps his arms around his daughter, making me smile.

"I'm sorry I ran away daddy," Amalia looks down. Matthias brushes her hair.

"It's alright, butterfly. You're safe, that's all that matters." He then looks up at me. "The correct phrase is 'Dulen Harn'. With luck, the golem will help you on your journey." I bow my head.

"Thank you, Matthias." We find the others in the village center, with the golem. "Alright," I start walking up to the golem, pulling out the rod. "Let's try this again. 'Dulen Harn'!" The second the words left my mouth, a fog begins around the golem and it begins moving. It moves one arm, then the other, then straitens, looking right at me. I put a hand to my blades, just in case it's still on kill-everyone-mood.

"I knew it wouldn't be long before someone found my control rod. And not even a mage this time." The golem scoffs. "Probably stumbled upon it by accident. Typical." I'm taken aback by this. I didn't know golems could speak, that's for sure.

"How do you know I'm not a mage?" I ask.

"It thinks these crystals are just for show? No, they have magic abilities to them."

"And you know I didn't just 'stumble' upon it."

"So it knew what it was doing?" **Is this thing going to keep calling me "it"? **"Shocking. I stood here in this stop and watched the reached little villagers scurry around me for . . . oh I have no idea how long. Many, many years."

"And the villagers had no idea they were being watched?" Alistair asked. "Creepy." The golem sighed.

"And I was just getting used to the quiet too. Tell me, are all the villagers dead?"

"No, but I take it that wouldn't concern you?" I crossed my arms.

"Familiarity breeds contempt, as they say, and after thirty years a captive audience, I was as familiar with the villagers as one could possibly be. Not that I wish their fate on them, no, but it did make for a delightful change of pace."

"So you watched the attack, then?"

"Not as much as it would think. There was running and screaming and after days and days of watching the spawn prowl around. I would have never thought there could be less interesting then the villagers, but there it was." After a pause, the golem continued. "Well? Go on then. What is its command?"

"I hadn't really thought about it." I shrugged. This was actually true. I may have slightly fantasied about it killing things, and being a bit taller, but I hadn't thought about the commands I'd give.

"It does have the control rod, doesn't it? I'm awake so . . . it must."

"Is something wrong?"

"There is something odd here. Go on. Order me to do something." I looked around, then my eyes fell to Zevran and a smile grew on my face.

"Give Zevran a hug." I commanded, which in turn forced Zevran to take some seeming unnoticed steps back.

"And . . . nothing. I feel nothing. I feel no compulsion to carry out its command. I suppose this means the rod is . . . broken?" I shrugged and looked at the rod.

"Can it be fixed?"

"I don't know. I thought the rod simply _was._ It certainly worked well to reanimate me." Shale hummed. "I suppose if I can't be commanded this means . . . I have free will, yes? It is, simply, what should I do? I have no memories besides watching this village for so long. I have no purpose. I find myself at a bit of a loss. What about it? It must have awaken me for some reason, no? What did it intend to do with me?"

"I did have some intensions for a golem."

"May I ask what sort of things it gets up to, for which I could potentially useful?"

"I am a Grey Warden, in need of aid against a Blight." I bluntly told him.

"The darkspawn are an evil that must be destroyed, it's true, though not as evil as the birds. Damnable feathered fiends. I suppose I have two options, do I not? Go with it or . . . go elsewhere. I . . . do not ever know what lies beyond this village."

"It's your choice. What do you want to do?"

"I watched this village for so long, unable to move or act. My memories of anything before are . . . vague at best. So I have no idea what I want to do. I'm glad to be mobile, is that not enough."

"You are welcome to come with me." Alistair stepped forward and grabbed my arm.

"Are you certain you want to bring that thing with us? It could be dangerous." I looked to him then Shale.

"I have a good idea of this. If you don't trust the golem, trust me." He stood there a moment then finally nodded and let go.

"I will follow it about then. For now. I am called Shale, by the way." I nodded once.

"I and Morriana." After formally introducing him to everyone, Shale sighed.

"This should be interesting." I laughed.

"Come one. We have a few day travel to get to Orzammar." I begin to walk off with everyone and we make our way out of the village. We all stop, suddenly, when we heard a smashing noise. I turn, eyebrow raised to see Shale standing next to a pool of blood and the remnants of a chicken. Or, at least, I think it was. I turned back, shaking my head, but a smile made its way to my face.


End file.
